Information processing system, portable information terminal apparatus, information processing method, program information providing apparatus, program information providing method, recording/reproducing apparatus, recording/reroducing method, computer-program storage medium, and computer-program

ABSTRACT

An object of the present invention is to provide a system that allows a user to preset a desired TV program for unattended recording by use of a PDA. A PDA acquires from a TV program information service provider TV program information by which to preset a desired TV program to be recorded unattended. When the user selects relevant TV information about the desired program, the PDA sends to a personal computer the information for presetting the TV program of interest for subsequent unattended recording. Based on the preset information sent from the PDA, the personal computer presets the specified TV program to be recorded unattended.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/538,338, filed Jun.29, 2012, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/085,192,filed Feb. 27, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,233,775 issued Jul. 31, 2012,which is entitled to the priority filing date of Japanese applicationnumber 2001-053297, filed Feb. 28, 2001, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an information processing system, aportable information terminal apparatus, an information processingmethod, a program information providing apparatus, a program informationproviding method, a recording/reproducing apparatus, arecording/reproducing method, a program storage medium, and a program.More particularly, the invention relates to an information processingsystem, a portable information terminal apparatus, an informationprocessing method, a program information providing apparatus, a programinformation providing method, a recording/reproducing apparatus, arecording/reproducing method, a program storage medium, and a program,whereby a user operating the portable information terminal apparatussuch as a so-called PDA can preset a desired program to be recordedunattended.

Some related-art TV program recorders known as VTRs (video taperecorders) allow users to preset desired programs to be later recordedunattended using the so-called G code (trademark of Gemstar DevelopmentCorp.). This technology involves the user operating a remote commanderto input a G code corresponding to the desired TV program, the G codebeing transmitted as an infrared ray signal to the VTR. Upon receipt ofthe infrared ray signal, the VTR decodes the G code carried by thesignal to find out the date of broadcast, the name of the TV stationconcerned, the name of the TV program to be recorded, a program starttime, and a program end time for analysis, and presets accordingly theTV program for recording.

Examples of the technology above are disclosed illustratively in U.S.Pat. No. 5,335,079 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,173.

One disadvantage of the above-disclosed method is its complexity ofoperation. The method requires the user to look up a G code of up toeight digits corresponding to a desired TV program in the program listcarried by the newspaper, magazines or other publications and tomanually input the selected G code.

Recent years have seen the launch of a service based on a systemutilizing a TV program preset website on the Internet allowing users topreset desired TV programs to be later recorded unattended. According tothis preset recording system, a user operates a portable informationterminal apparatus such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or apersonal computer initially to access a TV program preset websiteoffering TV program information (in the form of a TV program list).Browsing through the program information, the user searches for thedesired TV program. Once the desired program is chosen, the useroperates a preset button to download the relevant program informationdescribing the name of the TV station concerned, the name of the TVprogram to be recorded, a program start time, and a program end time.

A disadvantage of the recording preset system above is that users mustkeep displaying the TV program list on their PDA or personal computerscreen after gaining access to the TV program preset website, until theyfind the programs they have been searching for. The search process istime-consuming and expensive in an online communication environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstancesand provides techniques involving a portable information terminalapparatus allowing users to acquire and record program information inadvance so that they can later browse through the recorded programinformation as needed to look up a desired program offline and to presetunattended recording of the desired program.

In carrying out the invention and according to a first aspect thereof,there is provided an information processing system comprising a programinformation providing apparatus for providing program information aboutprograms, a portable information terminal apparatus, and an informationprocessing apparatus having recording and reproducing functions. Theprogram information providing apparatus includes: a storing element forstoring the program information; and a providing element for retrievingthe program information from the storing element before providing theretrieved program information to the portable information terminalapparatus. The portable information terminal apparatus includes: anacquiring element for acquiring the program information from the programinformation providing apparatus; an establishing element forestablishing preset information for presetting a desired program to berecorded unattended based on the program information acquired by theacquiring element; and a transmitting element for transmitting to theinformation processing apparatus the preset information established bythe establishing element. The information processing apparatus includes:a receiving element for receiving the preset information from theportable information terminal apparatus; and a recording controllingelement for controlling the unattended recording of the desired programbased on the preset information received by the receiving element.

In a preferred structure of the information processing system accordingto the first aspect of the invention, the program information providingapparatus may further include a converting element for retrieving theprogram information from the storing element before converting theretrieved program information into data of a file format compatible withthe portable information terminal apparatus; and the providing elementmay provide the data converted by the converting element to the portableinformation terminal apparatus.

In another preferred structure of the information processing systemaccording to the first aspect of the invention, the portable informationterminal apparatus may further include a generating element forgenerating a preset signal corresponding to the preset informationestablished by the establishing element; and the transmitting elementmay transmit to the information processing apparatus infrared raysmodulated to represent the preset signal generated by the generatingelement.

In a further preferred structure of the information processing systemaccording to the first aspect of the invention, the portable informationterminal apparatus may further include a generating element forgenerating a preset signal corresponding to the preset informationestablished by the establishing element; and the transmitting elementmay transmit to the information processing apparatus radio wavesmodulated to represent the preset signal generated by the generatingelement.

In the information processing system according to the first aspect ofthe invention, as outlined above, the program information providingapparatus provides stored program information to the portableinformation terminal apparatus. Based on the program informationacquired from the program information providing apparatus, the portableinformation terminal apparatus establishes preset information forpresetting a desired program to be recorded unattended and transmits thepreset information thus established to the information processingapparatus. Given the preset information from the portable informationterminal apparatus, the information processing apparatus controls theunattended recording of the program accordingly.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided aninformation processing system comprising a program information providingapparatus for providing program information about programs, a portableinformation terminal apparatus, and an information processing apparatushaving recording and reproducing functions. The program informationproviding apparatus includes: a storing element for storing the programinformation and advertisement information; and a providing element forretrieving the program information and the advertisement informationfrom the storing element before providing the retrieved information tothe portable information terminal apparatus. The portable informationterminal apparatus includes: an acquiring element for acquiring theprogram information and the advertisement information sent from theprogram information providing apparatus; an establishing element forestablishing preset information for presetting a desired program to berecorded unattended based on the program information acquired by theacquiring element; and a transmitting element for transmitting to theinformation processing apparatus the preset information established bythe establishing element. The information processing apparatus includes:a receiving element for receiving the preset information from theportable information terminal apparatus; and a recording controllingelement for controlling the unattended recording of the desired programbased on the preset information received by the receiving element.

In a preferred structure of the information processing system accordingto the second aspect of the invention, the program information providingapparatus may further include a converting element for retrieving theprogram information and the advertisement information from the storingelement before converting the retrieved information into data of a fileformat compatible with the portable information terminal apparatus; andthe providing element may provide the data converted by the convertingelement to the portable information terminal apparatus.

In the information processing system according to the second aspect ofthe invention, as outlined above, the program information providingapparatus provides stored program information and advertisementinformation to the portable information terminal apparatus. Based on theprogram information and advertisement information acquired from theprogram information providing apparatus, the portable informationterminal apparatus establishes preset information for presetting adesired program to be recorded unattended and transmits the presetinformation thus established to the information processing apparatus.Given the preset information from the portable information terminalapparatus, the information processing apparatus controls the unattendedrecording of the program accordingly.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided aninformation processing system comprising a portable information terminalapparatus and an information processing apparatus which has recordingand reproducing functions and which stores program information aboutprograms. The portable information terminal apparatus includes: anacquiring element for acquiring the program information from theinformation processing apparatus; an establishing element forestablishing preset information for presetting a desired program to berecorded unattended based on the program information acquired by theacquiring element; and a transmitting element for transmitting to theinformation processing apparatus the preset information established bythe establishing element. The information processing apparatus includes:a receiving element for receiving the preset information sent from theportable information terminal apparatus; and a recording controllingelement for controlling the unattended recording of the desired programbased on the preset information received by the receiving element.

In a preferred structure of the information processing system accordingto the third aspect of the invention, the acquiring element may furtheracquire the program information sent from another portable informationterminal apparatus.

In the information processing system according to the third aspect ofthe invention, as outlined above, the portable information terminalapparatus acquires stored program information from the informationprocessing apparatus. Based on the acquired program information, theportable information terminal apparatus establishes preset informationfor presetting a desired program to be recorded unattended and transmitsthe preset information thus established to the information processingapparatus. Given the preset information from the portable informationterminal apparatus, the information processing apparatus controls theunattended recording of the program accordingly.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided aportable information terminal apparatus connected to arecording/reproducing apparatus, the portable information terminalapparatus comprising: an acquiring element for acquiring programinformation about programs; a displaying element for displaying theprogram information acquired by the acquiring element; anestablishing-element for establishing preset information for presettinga desired program to be recorded unattended based on an operationalinput made by a user referring to the program information displayed bythe displaying element; and a transmitting element for transmitting tothe recording/reproducing apparatus the preset information establishedby the establishing element.

In a preferred structure of the portable information terminal apparatusaccording to the fourth aspect of the invention and further comprising ajudging element, the program information may include detailed programinformation associated with advertisement information; the judgingelement may judge whether the program information acquired by theacquiring element is associated with the advertisement information; and,if the judging element judges that the program information is notassociated with the advertisement information, then the displayingelement may not display the program information.

In another preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the detailedprogram information may include either an indicator pointing to alocation where further information associated with the programinformation exists, or information about a reference to the associatedinformation.

In, a further preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, theadvertisement information may include detailed advertisement informationassociated with the advertisement information; and the detailedadvertisement information may include either an indicator pointing to alocation where further information associated with the advertisementinformation exists, or information about a reference to the associatedinformation.

In an even further preferred structure of the portable informationterminal apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention andfurther comprising a judging element and an updating element, theprogram information may be associated with advertisement information;the advertisement information may include time limit informationdenoting a time limit; the judging element may judge whether the timelimit denoted by the time limit information in the advertisementinformation has expired; and the updating element may update the programinformation based on the judgment by the judging element.

A still further preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention may furthercomprise: a storing element for storing the preset informationestablished by the establishing element; and a controlling element forcontrolling exchanges of information with the recording/reproducingapparatus; wherein the transmitting element may transmit the presetinformation from the storing element to the recording/reproducingapparatus under control of the controlling element.

A yet further preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention may furthercomprise a registering element for registering detailed information fordesignating the program information to be acquired by the acquiringelement; wherein the displaying element may further display the detailedinformation registered by the registering element.

In another preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the detailedinformation may include any one of a region, a channel, and a user ID.

In a further preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, theregistering element may register a plurality of items of the detailedinformation, and the acquiring element may acquire the programinformation corresponding to the plurality of items of the detailedinformation registered by the registering element.

In an even further preferred structure of the portable informationterminal apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, ifthe program information corresponding to the detailed information isacquired by the acquiring element, then the displaying element mayfurther display a predetermined mark pointing to the detailedinformation.

A still further preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention may furthercomprise: a controlling element for controlling exchanges of informationwith the recording/reproducing apparatus; and a receiving element which,under control of the controlling element, may receive from therecording/reproducing apparatus a message regarding preset status of thedesired program as part of the preset information transmitted from thetransmitting element; wherein the displaying element may further displaya predetermined mark pointing to the detailed information based on themessage received by the receiving element.

A yet further preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention may furthercomprise a receiving element for receiving image data derived fromconversion of the desired program, recorded by the recording/reproducingapparatus, into a predetermined file format; wherein the displayingelement may further display the image data received by the receivingelement.

Another preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention may furthercomprise: a managing element for managing a schedule list in which toregister what is scheduled by the user; a judging element for judgingwhether or not to write the preset information established by theestablishing element to the schedule list managed by the managingelement; and a writing element which, based on the judgment by thejudging element, may write the preset information established by theestablishing element to the schedule list managed by the managingelement; wherein the displaying element may further display the schedulelist including the preset information written by the writing element.

In a further preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, thetransmitting element may transmit infrared rays modulated to represent apreset signal corresponding to the preset information.

In an even further preferred structure of the portable informationterminal apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, thetransmitting element may transmit radio waves modulated to represent apreset signal corresponding to the preset information.

In a still further preferred structure of the portable informationterminal apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention, thetransmitting element may transmit the preset information over a network.

A yet further preferred structure of the portable information terminalapparatus according to the fourth aspect of the invention may furthercomprise an updating element for updating the preset informationestablished by the establishing element.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided aninformation processing method for use with a portable informationterminal apparatus connected to a recording/reproducing apparatus, theinformation processing method comprising the steps of: acquiring programinformation about programs; controlling display of the programinformation acquired in the acquiring step; establishing presetinformation for presetting a desired program to be recorded unattendedbased on an operational input made by a user referring to the programinformation displayed under control of the controlling step; andtransmitting to the recording/reproducing apparatus the presetinformation established in the establishing step.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer-program storage medium which stores a computer-program forcontrolling a portable information terminal apparatus connected to arecording/reproducing apparatus, the computer-program comprising thesteps of: acquiring program information about programs; controllingdisplay of the program information acquired in the acquiring step;establishing preset information for presetting a desired program to berecorded unattended based on an operational input made by a userreferring to the program information displayed under control of thecontrolling step; and transmitting to the recording/reproducingapparatus the preset information established in the establishing step.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer-program for use with a computer connected to arecording/reproducing apparatus, the computer-program comprising thesteps of causing the computer to: acquire program information aboutprograms; control display of the program information acquired in theacquiring step; establish preset information for presetting a desiredprogram to be recorded unattended based on an operational input made bya user referring to the program information displayed under control ofthe controlling step; and transmit to the recording/reproducing,apparatus the preset information established in the establishing step.

Through the use of the portable information terminal apparatus, theinformation processing method, and the computer-program according to thefourth, the fifth and the seventh aspects of the invention respectively,program information about a desired program is first acquired anddisplayed. The user, referring to the displayed program information,executes a suitable operational input to establish preset informationfor presetting the desired program to be recorded unattended. The presetinformation thus established is transmitted to the recording/reproducingapparatus.

According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided aprogram information providing apparatus for providing programinformation about programs to an information processing apparatus over anetwork, the program information providing apparatus comprising: astoring element for storing the program information and advertisementinformation; a converting element which, based on a request from theinformation processing apparatus, retrieves the program information andthe advertisement information from the storing element before convertingthe retrieved information into data of a predetermined format compatiblewith the information processing apparatus; and a providing element forproviding the data converted by the converting element to theinformation processing apparatus over the network.

A preferred structure of the program information providing apparatusaccording to the eighth aspect of the invention may further comprise acharging element for calculating a fee for inserting the advertisementinformation and charging the fee on a sponsor of the advertisementinformation.

In another preferred structure of the program information providingapparatus according to the eighth aspect of the invention, the storingelement may further store user information about a user who owns theinformation processing apparatus.

In a further preferred structure of the program information providingapparatus according to the eighth aspect of the invention, the programinformation may include detailed program information associated with theprogram information, and the advertisement information may includedetailed advertisement information associated with the advertisementinformation.

In an even further preferred structure of the program informationproviding apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the invention, thedetailed program information may include either an indicator pointing toa location where further information associated with the programinformation exists, or information about a reference to the associatedinformation.

In a still further preferred structure of the program informationproviding apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the invention, thedetailed advertisement information may include either an indicatorpointing to a location where further information associated with theadvertisement information exists, or information about a reference tothe associated information.

In a yet further preferred structure of the program informationproviding apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the invention, theadvertisement information may include time limit information denoting atime limit.

According to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided aprogram information providing method for use with a program informationproviding apparatus for providing program information about programs toan information processing apparatus over a network, the programinformation providing method comprising the steps of: controllingstorage of the program information and advertisement information;retrieving, based on a request from the information processingapparatus, the program information and the advertisement informationfrom storage under control of the storage controlling step beforeconverting the retrieved information into data of a predetermined formatcompatible with the information processing apparatus; and providing thedata converted in the converting step to the information processingapparatus over the network.

According to a tenth aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer-program storage medium which stores a computer-program forcontrolling a program information providing apparatus which providesprogram information about programs to an information processingapparatus over a network, the computer-program comprising the steps of:controlling storage of the program information and advertisementinformation; retrieving, based on a request from the informationprocessing apparatus, the program information and the advertisementinformation from storage under control of the storage controlling stepbefore converting the retrieved information into data of a predeterminedformat compatible with the information processing apparatus; andproviding the data converted in the converting step to the informationprocessing apparatus over the network.

According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer-program for use with a computer which provides programinformation about programs to an information processing apparatus over anetwork, the computer-program comprising the steps of causing thecomputer to: control storage of the program information andadvertisement information; retrieve, based on a request from theinformation processing apparatus, the program information and theadvertisement information from storage under control of the storagecontrolling step before converting the retrieved information into dataof a predetermined format compatible with the information processingapparatus; and provide the data converted in the converting step to theinformation processing apparatus over the network.

Through the use of the program information providing apparatus, theprogram information providing method, and the computer-program accordingto the eighth, the ninth and the eleventh aspects of the inventionrespectively, program information and advertisement information arestored and then retrieved as requested by the information processingapparatus. The retrieved information is converted to data of apredetermined file format compatible with the information processingapparatus. The converted data are provided to the information processingapparatus over the network.

According to a twelfth aspect of the invention, there is provided arecording/reproducing apparatus connected to a portable informationterminal apparatus, the recording/reproducing apparatus comprising: areceiving element for receiving from the portable information terminalapparatus preset information for presetting a desired program to berecorded unattended; and a recording controlling element for controllingthe unattended recording of the desired program based on the presetinformation received by the receiving element.

A preferred structure of the recording/reproducing apparatus accordingto the twelfth aspect of the invention may further comprise: aconverting element for converting the desired program recorded by therecording controlling element into image data of a predetermined fileformat in response to a request from the portable information terminalapparatus; and a transmitting element for transmitting the image dataconverted by the converting element to the portable information terminalapparatus.

Another preferred structure of the recording/reproducing apparatusaccording to the twelfth aspect of the invention may further comprise atransmitting element for transmitting to the portable informationterminal apparatus a message regarding preset status of the desiredprogram as part of the preset information received by the receivingelement.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided arecording/reproducing method for use with a recording/reproducingapparatus connected to a portable information terminal apparatus, therecording/reproducing method comprising the steps of: receiving from theportable information terminal apparatus preset information forpresetting a desired program to be recorded unattended; and controllingthe unattended recording of the desired program based on the presetinformation received in the receiving step.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer-program storage medium which stores a computer-program forcontrolling a recording/reproducing apparatus connected to a portableinformation terminal apparatus, the computer-program comprising thesteps of: receiving from the portable information terminal apparatuspreset information for presetting a desired program to be recordedunattended; and controlling the unattended recording of the desiredprogram based on the preset information received in the receiving step.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the invention, there is provided acomputer-program for use with a computer connected to a portableinformation terminal apparatus, the computer-program comprising thesteps of causing the computer to: receive from the portable informationterminal apparatus preset information for presetting a desired programto be recorded unattended; and control the unattended recording of thedesired program based on the preset information received in thereceiving step.

Through the use of the recording/reproducing apparatus, therecording/reproducing method, and the computer-program according to thetwelfth, the thirteenth and the fifteenth aspects of the inventionrespectively, the recording/reproducing apparatus receives from theportable information terminal apparatus the preset information forpresetting a desired program to be recorded unattended. The unattendedrecording of the desired program is executed by therecording/reproducing apparatus in accordance with the presetinformation thus received.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a typical configuration of a TVprogram data acquisition system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a PDA included in the setup of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the PDA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting a typical electrical structure ofthe PDA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a function block diagram of the PDA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view indicating a typical data structure of a TVprogram list, recorded to a TV program list memory shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a typical structure of a personalcomputer included in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an image processing board shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a function block diagram of the personal computer in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram depicting a typical structure of a TV programinformation service provider included in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an initial screen that appears on thePDA;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a typical display screen that appears onthe PDA;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of steps in which the PDA illustratively acquiresTV program information from the TV program information service provider;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of a TV program information managementscreen;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory view of menu indications on the TV programinformation management screen;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view of a setting screen;

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view of a channel setting screen;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view of a scheduled date setting screen for TVprogram information acquisition;

FIG. 19 is a schematic view of a typical message window;

FIG. 20 is a schematic view of a typical TV program informationmanagement screen;

FIG. 21 is a schematic view of a typical change window;

FIG. 22 is an explanatory view of other menu indications on the TVprogram information management screen;

FIG. 23 is an explanatory view of icons displayed after acquisition ofTV program information;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of steps in which the PDA illustratively acquiresTV program information from the TV program information service providervia the personal computer;

FIG. 25 is a schematic view of a typical TV program list screen;

FIG. 26 is an explanatory view of menu indications on the TV programlist screen;

FIG. 27 is an explanatory view of other menu indications on the TVprogram list screen;

FIG. 28 is a schematic view of another typical message window;

FIG. 29 is a schematic view of a typical channel table display;

FIG. 30 is a schematic view of a typical date table display;

FIG. 31 is a schematic view of a typical list box in which to establishTV program list display start times;

FIG. 32 is a schematic view of a typical detailed advertisement screen;

FIG. 33 is a schematic view of a typical display screen in effect when aWeb browser is started;

FIG. 34 is a schematic view of a typical display screen in effect whenan e-mail program is started;

FIG. 35 is a schematic view of a typical table of TV programs in adesignated time slot;

FIG. 36 is a flowchart of steps constituting a recording preset process;

FIG. 37 is a schematic view of a typical detailed TV program screen;

FIG. 38 is a schematic view of a typical preset list screen;

FIG. 39 is a schematic view of a typical schedule detail screen;

FIG. 40 is a schematic view of another typical message window;

FIG. 41 is a schematic view of icons displayed illustratively toindicate the current recording status;

FIG. 42 is a flowchart of steps constituting a preset list changingprocess;

FIG. 43 is a schematic view of a typical schedule list displayreflecting a preset TV program schedule;

FIG. 44 is an explanatory view of other menu indications;

FIG. 45 is a schematic view of a typical infrared communication screen;

FIG. 46 is a flowchart of steps in which the PDA illustrativelytransmits a recording command to the personal computer through infraredcommunication;

FIG. 47 is a flowchart of steps in which the PDA illustratively carriesout a remote control process;

FIG. 48 is a schematic view of a typical remote commander displayscreen;

FIG. 49 is a schematic view of a typical recording preset screendisplayed on the personal computer;

FIG. 50 is a schematic view of a typical video recorder window displayedon the personal computer;

FIG. 51 is a schematic view of a typical AV content management/searchscreen displayed on the personal computer;

FIG. 52 is a flowchart of steps in which the personal computerillustratively transmits content data to the PDA;

FIG. 53 is a schematic view of a typical content datareception/reproduction screen;

FIG. 54 is a schematic view of a reproduction command screen displayingicons denoting reproducible content data;

FIG. 55 is a schematic view of a typical display screen displayingcontent data; and

FIG. 56 is an explanatory view showing how a content conversion processis executed from the AV content management/search screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of this invention will now be described byreferring to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a typical configuration of a TVprogram data acquisition system according to the invention.

In FIG. 1, PDA 1-1 and PDA 1-2 are each a portable information terminalapparatus running on a Palm OS (trademark). The PDAs may be connected ina wired or wireless manner to a digital portable telephone 2, a personalcomputer 9, and a VCR (video cassette recorder) 13. In the setup of FIG.1, the PDA 1-1 is wired to the digital portable telephone 2 via acommunication module, not shown. The PDA 1-2 is wired to the personalcomputer 9 through a cradle 7 and is connected wirelessly to the VCR 13.Obviously, the PDA 1-1 and PDA 1-2 may also be connected to any of thedigital portable telephone 2, personal computer 9 and VCR 13 or mayoperate on a stand-alone basis.

In the description that follows, the PDA 1-1 and PDA 1-2 will bereferred to generically as the PDA 1 except where they need to bedistinguished from one another.

The cradle 7 is an interface device that connects the PDA 1 with thepersonal computer 9 to carry out what is called a hot sync process. Thisis the process of synchronizing files and data between two computers ofdifferent types, i.e., between the PDA 1 running on the Palm OS on theone hand and the personal computer 9 on the other hand. Thesynchronization is made possible regardless of dissimilar computermodels. Illustratively, the cradle 7 interfaces with the PDA 1 throughan RS-232C port and with the personal computer 9 through a serial businterface or a USB (universal serial bus).

The digital portable telephones 2 connect with a base station 3 (fixedwireless terminal) allocated to each of so-called cells suitablydividing the area where the communication service is offered. The basestation 3 allows the digital portable telephones 2 to link up with apublic communication network 4. The personal computer 9 is alsoconnected to the public communication network 4.

The base station 3 connects wirelessly with each digital portabletelephone 2 (mobile wireless terminal) on a W-CDMA (Wideband-CodeDivision Multiple Access) basis. The wireless connection ensureshigh-speed communication of large quantities of data between the basestation 3 and the digital portable telephone 2 at data transfer speedsof up to 2 Mbps over a 2-GHz frequency band.

The base stations 3 are wired to the public communication network 4. Thepublic communication network 4 is connected to the Internet 8 via anaccess server 6 of an Internet service provider. The network 4 is alsoconnected to wired subscriber terminal equipment, computer networks, andlocal area networks such as those inside corporations, not shown.

The digital portable telephone 2 is capable of exchanging large amountsof data at high speed with the base station 3 on a W-CDMA basis. Throughthe digital portable telephone 2 that it hooks up to, the PDA 1 can sendand receive e-mail, browse simple-format websites, send and receiveimage data, and perform many other forms of data communication.

The PDA 1-1 connects with a TV program information service provider 14via the digital portable telephone 2, base station 3, publiccommunication network 4, access server 6, and the Internet 8. Throughthe connection, the PDA 1-1 may request the service provider 14 totransmit TV program information. The transmitted program informationallows the PDA user to look up a TV program list and preset accordinglythe unattended recording of a desired program broadcast by a particularTV station. As with the PDA 1-1, the personal computer 9 also connectswith the TV program information service provider 14 via the publiccommunication network 4, access server 6, and the Internet 8. Throughthe connection, the personal computer 9 can request the service provider14 to transmit TV program information so that the PC user may likewiseperform what the PDA user was shown carrying out above.

In reference to FIG. 1, the PDA 1-1 was described above as capable ofconnecting with the public communication network 4 via the digitalportable telephone 2 and base station 3. Alternatively, the PDA 1-1 maygain access to the public communication network 4 through a PHS(Personal Handyphone System) terminal or a data card-type PHS terminallinked to a suitable base station that provides PHS call services.

When connected to the digital portable telephone 2, the PDA 1-1 obeys asimple-format transport protocol of 2 Mbps for connection to the basestation 3 and in accordance with TCP/IP (Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol) for communication from the base station 3 tothe TV program information service provider 14 and a WWW (Word Wide Web)server, not shown, over the Internet 8.

An administrative control unit 5 is connected to wired subscriberterminal equipment, to the personal computer 9 or to the digitalportable telephone 2 via the public communication network 4. Through theconnection, the administrative control unit 5 performs authentication,settlement of charges and other related processes with regard to thewired subscriber terminal equipment, personal computer 9 or digitalportable telephone 2.

The personal computer 9 admits signals from an antenna 17 that receivesradio waves from TV stations. From the input signal, the personalcomputer 9 reproduces video and audio data (i.e., images and sounds ofTV programs) and records them. The personal computer 9 further receivesanalog signals from a VCR 10 or digital data from a DVCR (digital videocassette recorder) 11 through a network 12 such as an IEEE (Institute ofElectrical and Electronic Engineers) 1394 network. The personal computer9 then reproduces and records images and sounds derived from the analogsignals or digital data thus received.

The personal computer 9 supplies analog signals representing recordedsounds and images to the VCR 10 or feeds digital data constitutingrecorded sounds and images to the DVCR 11. Furthermore, the personalcomputer 9 receives TV program information from the TV programinformation service provider 14 over the Internet 8. Upon receipt of theprogram information, the personal computer 9 forwards the information tothe PDA 1-2 or presets accordingly a TV program to be later recordedunattended.

The TV program information service provider 14 provides the service ofoffering users TV program lists, detailed introductions to specificprograms and other relevant information by way of the Internet 8. Aninternal database of the service provider 14 contains EPG (electronicprogram guide) information, TV program information used to presetunattended recording of particular TV programs from particular TVstations, advertisement information distributed along with the programinformation, and user information about registered users.

The TV program information service provider 14 receives a messagerequesting transmission of TV program information pertaining to aspecific date. The message is sent from the PDA 1-1 or personal computer9 connected to the digital portable telephone 2. In response to themessage, the service provider 14 transmits the program information tothe PDA 1-1 or personal computer 9 through the digital portabletelephone 2 and by way of the Internet 8, access server 6, and publiccommunication network 4, for use in presetting unattended recording of aspecific program from a specific TV station.

The TV program information service provider 14 offers TV programinformation in pdb (Palm Database) format files to the personal computer9 or to the PDA 1 in response, to requests from the latter. Web-based TVprogram information offered by existing TV program service providers hasbeen typically described in such page description languages as HTML(HyperText Markup Language), XML (eXtensible Markup Language) andCompact-HTML. While being fit for general use, the program informationwritten in these languages tends to be bulky and structuredhierarchically using tags. That means the data are flexible in terms offormats but require analysis before use following their retrieval. Inits related-art form, the program information is thus not very suitablefor browsing by the PDA 1.

By contrast, the pdb format is a general-purpose database formatcompatible with the Palm OS. Binary data and text data can be stored inmixed fashion in the pdb format that is dependent on Palm OSapplications. Because pdb-format data are converted by a converter to aspecific format, there is no need for data analysis. With no extra taginformation to deal with, the amount of the data can be minimized.

Related-art terrestrial broadcasting setups were subject to limitednumbers of available channels carrying TV programs. Today's widespreadacceptance of satellite broadcasts and cable TV distributions hasresulted in a far larger number of available channels. If the TV programinformation service provider 14 were to address broadcast services withmultitudes of channels by furnishing the user with program informationabout all available channels, then the quantity of the data involvedwould be so enormous that the user would find it extremely difficult tosearch the offered program information for a desired TV program usingthe PDA 1 with its small display screen.

The problem above is bypassed by the TV program information serviceprovider 14 accepting from each user a registration of desired TVchannels in advance. The registered user is then supplied with programinformation about the desired channels. The TV program informationservice provider 14 issues a unique user ID to each user who hasregistered desired TV channels.

On receiving from the personal computer 9 or PDA 1-1 a request includinga user ID for transmission of TV program information, the TV programinformation service provider 14 determines, whether the user in questionis a registered user. If the user is judged to be properly registered,the service provider 14 looks up the registered content applicable tothe user ID, selects program information about the TV channels based onthe registered content, and transmits the selected program informationin keeping with a designated date. Upon receipt of a program informationtransmission request without a user ID, the TV program informationservice provider 14 transmits a relatively small quantity of terrestrialbroadcast program information about the most-commonly-watched channelsin keeping with a specified date.

In that manner, the TV program information service provider 14 canfurnish users with desired TV program information that addressesmultiple-channel broadcast services covering satellite broadcasts andcable TV distributions.

The Internet 8 is connected with personal computers 16 owned bycorporations 15 and with numerous WWW servers, not shown. While only onepersonal computer 16 of a corporation is shown connected to the Internet8 in FIG. 1, it is obvious that a plurality of personal computers 16 arein fact connected. The WWW servers, not shown, are accessed inaccordance with TCP/IP by the PDA 1-1, by the personal computer 9, or bypersonal computers 16 owned by corporations 15.

The corporation 15 in FIG. 1 is assumed to be a sponsor foradvertisement attached to the program information offered by the TVprogram information service provider 14. Using a personal computer 16typically over the Internet 8, the corporation 15 asks the serviceprovider 14 to carry advertisement and is charged a fee for theadvertisement.

Alternatively, the corporation 15 may ask the TV program informationservice provider 14 to carry advertisement and be charged a fee for theadvertisement by mail or by other suitable offline means.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are provided to show what the PDA 1 typically looks likeand how it is structured. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the PDA 1 asgripped by a user's hand. FIG. 3 is a front view of the PDA 1.

The PDA 1 is housed in an enclosure small enough to be gripped andhandled by a single hand. At the top of the PDA 1 is a slot thataccommodates a memory card 21 incorporating a semiconductor memory. Alsolocated at the top is an infrared communication unit 22 that exchangesinformation with other devices. The PDA 1 further comprises a wirelessLAN (local area network) communication unit 64, not shown (but isincluded in FIG. 5).

At the bottom of the PDA 1 are a modem, not shown, for connecting withthe public communication network 4, and a USB port or an RS-232C port,not shown, for exchanging data with other devices. This PDA 1 is assumedto possess an RS-232C port. Also furnished on the PDA 1 are a displayunit 31, keys 32, and a jog dial 33.

The display unit 31 is made of a thinly formed display device such as aliquid crystal display which gives displays of icons, thumbnail imagesand text. In the lower part of the display unit 31 is a touch pad 31 athat the user may push by fingertips or by a pen to enter relevant dataor operation commands into the PDA 1.

The keys 32 are operated by the user to input various commands into aCPU (central processing unit) 41 (see FIG. 4) of the PDA 1.

The jog dial 33 is rotated on its axis or pushed into the enclosure bythe user selecting an icon, a thumbnail image or a text portionappearing on the display unit 31. With a plurality of icons displayed onthe display unit 31, the user may rotate the jog dial 33 to reach adesired icon and then push the dial into the enclosure. The pushingaction finalizes the selection of the currently displayed icon. If thefinalized icon corresponds to an application program, that program isthen started.

Alternatively, a rotate-while-push action of the jog dial 33 may bearranged to correspond with commands different from those of ordinarydial rotating operations. Illustratively, with a TV program list of agiven channel shown on the display unit 31, turning the jog dial 33 mayfeed the program list of the same channel until a desired program nameis reached; turning the jog dial 33 while pushing it may call up a TVprogram list of a different channel on the display unit 31.

The correspondence between the operations of the jog dial 33 and whatactually occurs in the apparatus is not limited to what was describedabove. Any other operation-performance combinations may be devised andimplemented as desired on the PDA.

The PDA 1 is designed to be mountable on the cradle 7. The cradle 7connects with the PDA 1 illustratively through the RS-232C interface.The PDA 1 automatically determines whether it is currently connected tothe cradle 7. The cradle 7 has a hot sync button 35. With the PDA 1mounted on the cradle 7, pushing the hot sync button 35 causes the PDA 1and personal computer 9 to carry out the hot sync process to synchronizefiles and data therebetween.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting a typical electrical structure ofthe PDA 1.

In synchronism with a clock signal from an oscillator 42, the CPU 41runs the operating system and performs various programs such asapplication programs, all retrieved from a flash ROM (read-only memory)43 or an EDO-DRAM (extended data-out dynamic random-access memory) 44.

The flash ROM 43 is made up of a flash memory, a variation of EEPROM(electrically erasable programmable read-only memory). Generally, theflash ROM 43 accommodates basically fixed data as part of thoseconstituting programs and operation parameters used by the CPU 41. TheEDO-DRAM 44 stores programs executed by the CPU 41, data needed for theprogram execution, and parameters varied as needed during the execution.

A memory card interface 45 reads data from the memory card 21 loaded inthe PDA 1 and writes data coming from the CPU 41 to the memory card 21.

The memory card 21 is illustratively a Memory Stick (trademark), avariation of flash memory card developed by this applicant. The memorycard 21 is composed of flash memory elements housed in a plastic casemeasuring 21.5 mm by 50 mm by 2.8 mm. The memory elements constitute anEEPROM, a nonvolatile, read-only memory that is electrically erasableand programmable. Through a 10-pin terminal, various data includingimage, voice and music data may be written to and read from the memorycard 21.

The Memory Stick adopts a proprietary serial protocol that ensures thecompatibility of the memory with a host device having undergonespecification changes of a built-in flash memory for a larger storagecapacity. Data are written to and read from the Memory Stick at highspeeds of up to 1.5 MB/S and 2.45 MB/S respectively. A write-protectswitch is provided to ensure high reliability of the memory.

When accommodating the memory card 21 of the above-described type, thePDA 1 can readily share data with other electronic devices through thecard.

In synchronism with a clock signal from an oscillator 47, a USBinterface 46 admits data or programs from a drive 61, i.e., an attachedUSB device, and feeds data coming from the CPU 41 to the drive 61.

The drive 61 reads data or programs from a magnetic disk 71, an opticaldisk 72, a magneto-optical disk 73, or a semiconductor memory 74 loadedinto the drive as needed. The data or programs thus retrieved are fed tothe CPU 41 or EDO-DRAM 44 through the USB interface 46. The drive 61also writes data or programs to the magnetic disk 71, optical disk 72,magneto-optical disk 73, or semiconductor memory 74 that is loaded inthe drive.

The flash ROM 43, EDO-DRAM 44, memory card interface 45, and USBinterface 46 are connected to the CPU 41 via an address bus and a databus.

The display unit 31 receives data from the CPU 41 through an LCD bus anddisplays images or characters represented by the received data. When thedisplay unit 31 or the touch pad 31 a is operated, a touch pad controlunit 48 receives data representative of the operation (e.g., coordinatesof the touched location) from the display unit 31 or touch pad 31 a andsupplies a signal denoting the received data to the CPU 41 through theserial bus.

An EL (electroluminescence) driver 49 drives electroluminescent elementsat the back of a liquid crystal display portion of the display unit 31,controlling the brightness of displays on the display unit 31.

The infrared communication unit 22 receives data from the CPU 41 througha UART (universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter) and sends thereceived data as infrared ray signals to an external device, not shown.The unit 22 also receives infrared ray signals from the external deviceand transfers the received signals to the CPU 41. The UART also allowsthe PDA 1 to communicate with other devices.

The wireless LAN communication unit 64 is used to communicate wirelesslywith other devices (e.g., in a wireless communication setup based onBluetooth that is a wireless communication scheme utilizing a 2.4-GHzfrequency band). Data received from the CPU 41 are converted by apredetermined method into radio waves that are transmitted to otherdevices, not shown. Radio waves sent from another device are received bythe wireless LAN communication unit 64 which in turn supplies the CPU 41with data represented by the received radio waves.

An audio reproduction unit 51 is made up of speakers and audio datadecoding circuits. As such, the unit 51 decodes and audibly outputsaudio data that were previously recorded by the PDA 1 or received fromanother device. Illustratively, the audio reproduction unit 51 issupplied with audio data from the CPU 41 via a buffer 50, reproduces thesupplied data, and gives an audible output representative of the data.

A power supply circuit 52, connected to a loaded battery 62 or anattached AC (alternating current) adapter 63, converts the suppliedvoltage into power at suitable levels. The power is then fed to thecomponents ranging from the CPU 41 to the audio reproduction unit 51.

A communication unit 53 is connected to the cradle 7 or to acommunication module illustratively through the RS-232C interface.Typically, the communication unit 53 connects with the Internet 8 viathe communication module and digital portable telephone 2. Using asuitable packetizing method, the communication unit 53 arranges datafrom the CPU 41 (e.g., e-mail) into packets that are sent to otherdevices over the Internet 8. Upon receipt of packets from another deviceover the Internet 8, the communication unit 53 retrieves data orprograms from the packets and outputs what is retrieved to the CPU 41.

FIG. 5 is a function block diagram of the PDA 1. With the PDA 1 at hand,a user may utilize such basic functions as address book, memo pad,e-mail and schedule list and may execute various applications calledPalmware. All functions (i.e., programs) shown in FIG. 5 run under thePalm OS.

A data communication program 81 controls communications that may takeplace between an application run by the CPU 41 (e.g., TV programrecording preset program 83) on the one hand, and other devices on theother hand. The communications are effected through the communicationunit 53, infrared communication unit 22, or wireless LAN communicationunit 64.

An I/O control program 82 furnishes a given application with signalsrepresenting operations or commands performed or entered by the userusing the display unit 31, touch pad 31 a, or keys 32. Based on theprocessing of the application executed by the CPU 41, the I/O controlprogram 82 further controls output of data through the buffer 50 to theaudio reproduction unit 51 for audio playback or to the display unit 31for image display.

In accordance with the user's operation, a TV program recording presetprogram 83 writes to a preset information memory a date for which toacquire TV program information along with the program broadcast regionof interest, remote commander mode, and/or user information including amember ID. In turn, the TV program recording preset program 83 downloadsrelevant program lists 101-1 and 101-2 from the TV program informationservice provider 14 and stores the downloaded lists into a TV programlist memory 91. In order to preset desired TV programs for unattendedrecording, the user performs operations to select relevant programinformation from the program lists 101-1 and 101-2 held in the TVprogram list memory. When selected, the program information isestablished as preset information in a preset list 92 by the TV programrecording preset program 83. The preset program 83 also causes theprogram list 101 stored in the TV program list memory 91, presetinformation established in the preset list 92, or user information heldin a preset information memory 93, to be displayed on the display unit31. Furthermore, in keeping with the user's operation, the TV programrecording preset program 83 stores or establishes new information in theTV program list memory 91, preset list 92, or preset information memory93 or updates what is stored or established in these memories or list.

A schedule list program 84 is a schedule management program that allowsthe use to register his or her schedule in a schedule list along withstart and end times of the events involved, their locations, and otherdetails. Based on the user's operation, the schedule list program 84writes new information to the schedule list 94 or updates what is storedtherein. In addition, the schedule list program 84 allows the user toset an alarm that will be activated illustratively five or ten minutesbefore a specific start time so as to remind the user of the approachingevent scheduled earlier.

An e-mail program 85 is a software program that transmits and receivese-mail to and from the access server 6.

A Web browser 86 is a software program that allows the client side tobrowse information provided by WWW servers. Between a WWW server and aWWW client, the Web browser 86 ensures communications based onappropriate communication protocols (HTTP and HTML). The Web browser 86also ensures security in communication, provides reproduction ofmultimedia data such as audio data and moving picture data, and supportsextended language (e.g., Java) enabling program transfer between the WWWserver and the WWW client.

A moving picture display program 87, under control of the I/O controlprogram 82, performs data conversion and image processing causing thedisplay unit 31 to display moving picture data retrieved from any one ofthe magnetic disk 71, optical disk 72, magneto-optical disk 73 andsemiconductor memory 74 loaded in the drive 61.

A memo pad 88 is a text editor program which, under control of the I/Ocontrol program 82, receives signals reflecting text data entered by theuser operating the touch pad 31 a. Text data are generated correspondingto the received signals and are displayed on the display unit 31 undercontrol of the I/O control program 82.

The programs outlined above all run under the Palm OS.

As shown in FIG. 6, the TV program list 101 is constituted byadvertisement data, a program list proper, and program data. Theadvertisement data are data that describe an advertisement entrusted byeach corporation 15. Typically, the advertisement data may includeinformation such as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the website runby the corporation 15 and an e-mail address through which thecorporation 15 accepts inquiries from the public, or referenceinformation allowing the public to send or receive the advertisementdata using a protocol other than TCP/IP commonly adopted on theInternet.

Because advertisement data are sent to users possessing the PDA 1, it isconceivable more or less to identify a particular group of users towhich particular advertisement data can be targeted. Illustratively, itis possible effectively to sell targeted PDA users on Palm OSapplications, new mobile computers, and novel personal computers usingsuitable advertisements.

As its name implies, the TV program list is a list of TV programs thatare to be broadcast over specific channels on a particular date. Theprogram data illustratively describe the cast of each program, programcontents, and other detailed information associated with the program.

The TV program list is linked to advertisement data and program data.That is, each program list is displayed together with a plurality ofadvertisements that are changed periodically. When the user selects aspecific TV program name from the program list, the program data aboutthat program are displayed. The advertisement data contain informationdesignating a display time during which the advertisement is allowed toappear continuously on the PDA 1. The TV program recording presetprogram 83 changes the advertisement data on display by referring to thedisplay time information included in the data.

If the display time information specifies an extremely short time or avery long time, the user may feel uncomfortable being interminably fedwith, or abruptly deprived of, the advertisement. To avert thateventuality, the TV program recording preset program 83 mayautomatically set the advertisement data display time for, say, fiveseconds if the previously set time is anything other than three to sevenseconds.

Where each set of TV program information is furnished with a pluralityof advertisements switched over time, the business operator running theTV program information service provider 14 can gain more, advertisementrevenues than before.

If necessary, the advertisement data, program list proper, and programdata making up the TV program list 101 may be provided with valid periodinformation, update time limit information, and/or version informationabout the data involved. The program data are updated in one of two waysusing such information.

On the one hand, if valid period information is contained in theadvertisement data, program list proper, and program data making up theTV program list, then the TV program recording preset program 83 checksperiodically or at certain events (e.g., upon writing of new data to theTV program list 101) whether or not the TV program list 101 has anyexpired data. If any expired data are detected, the preset program 83attempts to update the data. Even if the updated data turn out to beidentical to the old data, the data in the TV program list 101 aresimply overwritten.

On the other hand, suppose that when a data update time limit or versioninformation is contained in the advertisement data, program list proper,and program data making up the TV program list, the TV program recordingpreset program 83 is to write new data to the TV program list 101. Inthat case, based on the data update time or version information, therecording preset program 83 checks the data source (e.g., personalcomputer 9, another PDA 1, or TV program information service provider14) to see whether the most recent information (updated information) isavailable. If the latest information is judged available, the program 83obtains the information anew.

One of the two updating methods above may be adopted depending on theupdating frequency or the size of the data involved. Illustratively, ifthe updating cycle is constant, then the data in the TV program list 101may be furnished with valid period information eliminating anyadditional and wasteful communications. If an exact update time isuncertain, then it is better to furnish the data making up the TVprogram list 101 with data update time or version information wherebythe latest information is made available reliably.

When TV program information (TV program list 101) is exchanged betweenthe PDA 1-1 and the PDA 1-2 or between the PDA 1-2 and the personalcomputer 9, advertisement data are first to be transmitted ahead of theprogram list proper and program data. If advertisement data are deletedfrom the TV program list 101 or if program information excluding anyadvertisement data is written to the TV program list memory 91 as a TVprogram list 101, then the TV program-recording preset program 83 willnot display the program list 101 corresponding to the specified date,giving a warning message such as this: “The TV program list for thisdate cannot be displayed. Please download data again.”

FIG. 7 is a block diagram depicting a typical structure of the personalcomputer 9.

In the setup of FIG. 7, a CPU 131 carries out various applicationprograms under a basic OS (operating system). A ROM 132 generallyaccommodates basically fixed data as part of those constituting programsand operation parameters used by the CPU 131. A RAM 133 stores programsexecuted by the CPU 131 and parameters varied as needed during theprogram execution. These components are interconnected via a host bus134 constituted by a CPU bus or a memory bus.

A host bus 134 is connected via a bridge 135 to an external bus 136 suchas a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect/Interface) bus.

A keyboard 138 is operated by the user entering various commands intothe CPU 131. A mouse 139 is also operated by the user pointing to andmaking choices on the screen of a CRT (cathode, ray tube) 140. The CRT140 displays diverse kinds of information in text and images. A harddisk drive (HDD) 141 and a floppy disk-drive (FDD) 142 drive a hard diskand a floppy disk respectively, writing programs and information to andfrom the disks for execution by the CPU 131. Speakers 143 provide audioreproduction. The components ranging from the keyboard 138 to thespeakers 143 are connected to an interface 137. In turn, the interface137 is connected to the CPU 131 via the external bus 136, bridge 135,and host bus 134.

An image processing board 144 under control of the CPU 131 generatesvideo and audio data based on video and audio analog signals from theantenna 17 or VCR 10 or on the basis of video and audio digital datacoming from the DVCR 11 through the network 12. The video and audio datathus generated are output to the hard disk drive 141 via the externalbus 136 and interface 137.

The image processing board 144 also admits video and audio dataretrieved from the hard disk drive 141 via the external bus 136 andinterface 137. In turn, the image processing board 144 generates analogsignals representing the input video and audio data before supplying thegenerated signals to the VCR 10, or produces digital data denoting theinput video and audio data so as to feed the produced data to the DVCR11 over the network 12.

In the setup of FIG. 7, the image processing board 144 is connected tothe CPU 131 via the external bus 136, bridge 135, and host bus 134.

A communication board 145 is a device that ensures connection with thepublic communication network 4 or with the cradle 7. Typically, thecommunication board 145 is constituted by an Ethernet board or the likeand connected to the CPU 131 through the external bus 136, bridge 135,and host bus 134.

An infrared communication unit 146 receives infrared ray signals sentillustratively from the PDA 1. The received signals are output to theCPU 131 via the external bus 136, bridge 135, and host bus 134. Givensignals from the CPU 131, the infrared communication unit 146 covertsthem into infrared ray signals for output to the outside.

A wireless LAN communication unit 147 receives radio waves sentillustratively from the PDA 1, converts the received radio waves by asuitable method into data compatible with the CPU 131, and outputs thedata to the CPU 131 through the external bus 136, bridge 135, and hostbus 134. The wireless LAN communication unit 147 also converts signalsfrom the CPU 131 into radio waves for output to the outside.

A detailed structure of the image processing board 144 will now bedescribed by referring to FIG. 8.

A 1394 interface 151, structured to comply with IEEE 1394 criteria, isconnected to the network 12. In accordance with an IEEE 1394-compatibleprotocol, the 1394 interface 151 receives video and audio digital datain DVCR format from the DVCR 11 and feeds the received data to a DV(digital video) data interface 152.

The 1394 interface 151 supplies the DVCR 11 with video and audio digitaldata in DVCR format sent from the DV data interface 152. The supply ofthe digital data to the DVCR 11 is effected in accordance with the IEEE1394-compatible protocol.

The DV data interface 152 outputs to a DV data compression/decompressioncircuit 153 video and audio digital data in DVCR format coming from the1394 interface 151 or from a digital selector 157 (such as 4:1:1decompressed digital data). The DV data interface 152 also outputs tothe 1394 interface 151 video and audio digital data in DVCR formatcoming from the DV data compression/decompression circuit 153, andsupplies the digital selector 157 with decompressed audio and videodigital data sent from the DV data compression/decompression circuit153.

The DV data compression/decompression circuit 153 converts video andaudio digital data in DVCR format from the DV data interface 152 intodecompressed video and audio digital data for output to the DV datainterface 152. The compression/decompression circuit 153 also convertsdecompressed video and audio digital data from the DV data interface 152into compressed video and audio digital data in DVCR format for outputto the DV data interface 152.

A tuner 154 admits RF (radio frequency) signals from the antenna 17 andoutputs the corresponding video and audio analog signals on a givenchannel to an analog selector 155. The analog selector 155 selects thevideo and audio analog signals from any one of the tuner 154, VCR 10,and a D/A (digital/analog) conversion circuit 161. The selected signalsare output to either an A/D (analog/digital) conversion circuit 156 orto the VCR 10.

The A/D conversion circuit 156 converts the video and audio analogsignals from the analog selector 155 into digital data for output to thedigital selector 157. The digital selector 157 selectively admits thevideo and audio digital data from any one of the DV data interface 152,A/D conversion circuit 156, and an MPEG decoder 160. The selecteddigital data are output to a bridge 159 as well as to the DV datainterface 152, to an MPEG encoder 158, or to the D/A conversion circuit161.

The MPEG encoder 158 converts the video and audio digital data sent fromthe digital selector 157 into compressed MPEG-format digital data foroutput to the bridge 159. The MPEG encoder 158 further converts sceneswitching images into still pictures for output to the bridge 159.

The bridge 159 outputs decompressed video and audio digital data fromthe digital selector 157 to the CRT 140 by way of the external bus 136and interface 137 of the personal computer 9 to which the imageprocessing board 144 is attached. The bridge 159 also outputsMPEG-format video and audio digital data from the MPEG encoder 158 tothe hard disk drive 141 or to the CPU 131 via the external bus 136 ofthe personal computer 9 to which the image processing board 144 isattached. Furthermore, the bridge 159 receives MPEG-format video andaudio digital data from the hard disk drive 141 of the personal computer9 via the external bus 136 and outputs the received data to the MPEGdecoder 160.

The MPEG decoder 160 converts the MPEG-format video and audio digitaldata from the bridge 159 into decompressed video and audio digital data.The decompressed data are output to the digital selector 157.

The D/A conversion circuit 161 converts video and audio digital datafrom the digital selector 157 into analog signals. The converted analogsignals are output to the analog selector 155.

Alternatively, the above-described processes performed by the MPEGencoder 158 and MPEG decoder 160 may be taken over by the CPU 131performing suitable programs.

FIG. 9 is a function block diagram of the personal computer 9.

In FIG. 9, an I/O management program 171 provides control on furnishinga given application with signals denoting the operations or commandsinput by the user operating the keyboard 138 or mouse 139. Using itscontrol capability, the I/O management program 171 outputs to theinfrared communication unit 146 the data derived from the processesperformed by various applications so that the communication unit 146 maytransmit infrared ray signals representing the derived data to otherdevices; the program 171 may alternatively output the relevant data tothe wireless LAN communication unit 147 so that the latter may outputradio waves carrying the data to other devices. The I/O managementprogram 171 outputs video data to the image processing board 144 forimage processing, sends audio data to the speakers 143 for audioreproduction, and feeds image data to the CRT 140 for image display. Themanagement program 171 further controls supply of data to the hard diskdrive (HDD) 141 to record the data thereto.

A hot sync manager 172 is a program that permits exchanges ofinformation with the PDA 1 running on the Palm OS. The program isdesigned to synchronize files and data between two different computers,i.e., between the PDA running on the Palm OS and the personal computer9. The synchronization is effected regardless of dissimilar computer,models.

A Palm desktop 173 is a program that allows the personal computer 9 toshare information with the PDA 1 running on the Palm OS, the informationhaving been exchanged under control of the hot sync manager 172.

A preset monitoring program 174 monitors presetting of TV programs forunattended recording based on TV program information received from thePDA 1 by means of the hot sync manager 172, as will be described laterwith reference to FIG. 36, or on the basis of recording presetinformation established by a recording preset program 178, to bedescribed later.

An AV content conversion program 175 is used to convert AV content(i.e., recorded TV program data) held on the HDD 141 in a common imageformat such as MPEG into data of a format compatible with a portableterminal apparatus with limited image processing capability, such as thePDA 1. The conversion is performed prior to transmission of the AVcontent to the PDA 1 through the processing by the hot sync manager 172,as will be described later with reference to FIG. 36.

An AV content management/search program 176 receives a signalrepresenting the user's operation or a command from another device undercontrol of the I/O management program 171, and searches the hard diskdrive 141 for the applicable AV content based on the received signal.The program 176 then outputs the retrieved content to the AV contentconversion program 175 that is requested for data conversion or to arecording/reproduction program 177 which is solicited to provide contentreproduction.

The recording/reproduction program 177 is a program that reproduces theAV content searched for and retrieved by the AV contentmanagement/search program 176.

The recording preset program 178 is a program that receives a signalrepresenting the user's operation or a command from another device undercontrol of the I/O management program 171, and presets unattendedrecording of a desired TV program over a specific broadcast channel onthe basis of the received signal.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram indicating a typical structure of the TVprogram information service provider 14 included in FIG. 1. In FIG. 10,a TV program information server 191 controls a converter 193 and acharge server 197 based on information received over the Internet 8. Theserver 191 also stores information into a TV program informationdatabase 192, a pdb-format TV program information database 194, a userinformation database 195, and an advertisement information database 196.Furthermore, the TV program information server 191 searches for andretrieves specific pieces of information from the stored information asdesignated.

Stored in the TV program information database 192 in a suitable databaseformat is EPG information for retrieving particular program information,as well as TV program information for use in presetting unattendedrecording of a desired TV program furnished by a specific TVbroadcasting station. The TV program information comprises at least theTV channel of each TV program, the date of its broadcast, the name ofthe program, and the start and end times of the program broadcast, alongwith detailed information associated with the TV program in question.The detailed program information may include, as needed, a URL of thewebsite run by the production company having produced each TV programand an e-mail address through which the company accepts inquiries fromthe public.

When users want to acquire detailed information regarding to a specificTV program, they gain access to the website run by the productioncompany that produced the program in question and/or inquire about theprogram using the e-mail address. In such cases, the informationinvolved is exchanged in accordance with TCP/IP commonly used on theInternet or by use of any other suitable protocol.

The advertisement information, database 196 stores in a suitabledatabase format information about advertisements sent from corporations15. The advertisement information includes, as needed, a URL of thewebsite run by the sponsor (e.g., corporation 15) of each advertisementand an e-mail address through which each sponsor accepts inquiries fromthe public. As with the TV program information database 192, theadvertisement information database 196 has its advertisement informationfurnished with URLs and e-mail addresses. The information is sent andreceived in accordance with TCP/IP commonly used on the Internet or byuse of any other suitable protocol.

The converter 193 under control of the TV program information server 191reads TV program information from the TV program information database192 and advertisement information from the advertisement informationdatabase 196, and converts the retrieved information into pdb-formatdata. Following the conversion, the pdb-format advertisement informationis attached to the TV program information which is then stored into thepdb-format TV program information database 194.

The user information database 195 contains user-related informationincluding user IDs and user-registered channels. Each user ID isassociated with the channel information needed by the user identified bythe user ID.

The charge server 197 is used to settle charges on the corporations 15for advertisements they sponsor.

The TV program information server 191 receives a TV program informationtransmission request over the Internet 8. If the received transmissionrequest is judged to be coming from the TV program data acquisitionsystem embodying the invention, then the server 191 selectivelyretrieves from the pdb-format TV program information database 194user-requested TV program information along with related advertisementinformation based on the information included in the transmissionrequest, and sends the retrieved information to the user concerned.

If the received TV program information transmission request contains auser ID, then the TV program information server 191 retrieves registeredinformation about the user identified by the user ID from the userinformation database 195 and, based on the registered information thusretrieved and on the date information included in the transmissionrequest, selectively retrieves user-requested TV program informationalong with related advertisement information from the pdb-format TVprogram information database 194. The information retrieved by theserver 191 is transmitted to the user in question.

The TV program information server 191 may alternatively carry out arelated-art Web-based TV program information providing process. That is,if the received TV program information transmission request turns out tobe a program information transmission request described in pagedescription language such as HTML, then the TV program informationserver 191 retrieves user-requested TV program information from the TVprogram information database 192 on the basis of the informationincluded in the request. The retrieved information is converted to dataof a specific format such as HTML before being sent to the userinvolved.

That is, the TV program information service provider 14 may operate inone of two ways. The information service provider 14 may transmitpdb-format TV program information to users through the use of the TVprogram information server 191 offering the related-art Web-basedprogram information feeding service; the service provider 14 may alsoprovide the pdb-format TV program information alone to users asdescribed.

The TV program information server 191 is connected via the Internet 8 tothe personal computer 16 owned by each corporation 15. The connectionallows the information server 191 to accept requests for carryingadvertisements from the corporation 15 and to register advertisementinformation with the advertisement information database 196. When thecharge server 197 has calculated charges on the corporations 15 for theadvertisements they sponsor and has sent the results of the calculationsto the TV program information server 191, the server 191 in turntransmits the calculated charges to the personal computers 16 of thecorporations 15 for settlement.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an initial screen that appears on the PDA1 when it is powered. The display unit 31 displays icons representingthe programs described above with reference to FIG. 5. The user mayselect any one of the icons with a pen 201 to start the desired program.

Suppose that with no TV program list 101 recorded in the TV program listmemory 91, the TV program recording preset program 83 is now started (bythe user selecting the icon marked “TV Program Preset”). In that case,as shown in FIG. 12, a window 211 appears carrying a message promptingthe user to acquire TV program information. Viewing the window 211, theuser selects an OK button 212 to proceed with operations to acquire TVprogram information.

The PDA 1 may acquire TV program information from the TV programinformation service provider 14 by one of two methods. By one method,the PDA 1 may connect directly with the TV program information serviceprovider 14 via the digital portable telephone 2, base station 3, publiccommunication network 4, access server 6, and the Internet 8. By anothermethod, the PDA 1 may be connected to the personal computer 9 by meansof the cradle 7. The personal computer 9 then connects with the TVprogram information service provider 14 through the public communicationnetwork 4, access server 6 and the Internet 8, and acquires TV programinformation from the service provider 14. The PDA in turn obtains the TVprogram information from the personal computer 9 through the cradle 7.

Described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 13 is how thePDA 1 acquires TV program information by directly connecting with the TVprogram information service provider 14 via the digital portabletelephone 2, base station 3, public communication network 4, accessserver 6, and the Internet 8. The flowchart specifically outlines theworkings of the PDA 1-1 and the TV program information server 191 in theTV program information service provider 14.

In step S1 of FIG. 13, the Palm OS run by the CPU 41 of the PDA 1-1detects application of power, and accordingly displays on the displayunit 31 the initial screen shown in FIG. 11.

In step S2, the Palm OS starts the TV program recording preset program83 in response to a command input for program start-up (from the userselecting the icon marked “TV Program Preset” on the screen of FIG. 11).If no TV program list is currently held in the TV program list memory91, the display screen of FIG. 12 appears.

In step S3, the TV program recording preset program 83 writes to thepreset information memory 93 a scheduled date for which to acquire TVprogram information and other settings reflecting the user's operationsunder control of the I/O control program 82. The settings are made asdescribed below with reference to FIGS. 14 through 19.

Illustratively, pushing the OK button 212 on the screen of FIG. 12causes a TV program information management screen to appear as shown inFIG. 14. This management screen contains a display area 221 in which thescheduled date for which to acquire TV program information is displayed,an OK button 222, a NEW button (for new registration), a CHANGE button224, a DELETE button 225, and a tag 226 to be selected for calling up amenu.

The OK button 222 is selected when what has been established on thescreen is judged correct. Selecting the OK button causes the displayscreen preceding the TV program information management screen toreappear on the display unit 31. The NEW button 223 is selected toregister a newly scheduled date for which to acquire TV programinformation. The CHANGE button 224 is selected when any established datefor which to acquire TV program information needs to be changed. TheDELETE button 225 is selected to delete any such established date for TVprogram information acquisition. Where scheduled dates for which toacquire TV program information are displayed in the display area 221,selecting any one of the dates and activating the DELETE button 225deletes the information about the selected date.

Selecting the tag 226 causes a TV program list tag 231 and an option tag232 to appear as shown in FIG. 15. If the option tag 232 is selected, adrop-down list box 233 is displayed.

Selecting a “Set” item in the drop-down list box 233 causes a settingscreen to appear as shown in FIG. 16. The setting screen includes aregion setting list box 241, a remote commander mode setting box 242, acheck box 243, a text box 244, another text box 245, an OK button 246,and a CANCEL button 247.

The region setting list box 241 is used to set the region for which toacquire TV program information. The remote commander mode setting box242 is used to set remote commander mode. The check box 243 is eitherchecked or left unchecked to determine whether or not to reflect presetinformation in the schedule list 94 that is established under control ofthe schedule list program 84. The text box 244 is used to set aninserted keyword by which to distinguish a program recording presetschedule from other schedules when the preset information is to bereflected in the schedule list 94.

The text box 245 is used to establish a member ID granted beforehand toeach user who registered with the TV program information serviceprovider 14. The OK button 246 is selected when the settings in theboxes ranging from the region setting list box 241 to the text box 245are judged correct. The CANCEL button 247 is selected if it is desiredto cancel the settings made so far.

Selecting a “Set channel No.” item in the drop-down list box 233 causesa channel setting screen to appear as shown in FIG. 17. The channelsetting screen indicates in tabular form displayed channels (CHs),received channels, and channel names (i.e., station names). Details ofthese indications may be changed as needed depending on the selectedregion. The channel setting screen further includes an OK button 248 anda CANCEL button 249. The OK button 248 is selected when the channelsettings are judged correct, and the CANCEL button 249 is selected tocancel the channel settings made so far.

If the NEW button 223 is selected on the TV program informationmanagement screen of FIG. 14, then a scheduled date setting screen forTV program information acquisition of FIG. 18 is displayed for the userto make a new registration. On the screen, the user first calls up acalendar of a desired month by selecting the month and the year. In thecalendar, the user chooses a desired date for which to acquire TVprogram information. If the user wants to obtain today's TV programinformation, selecting a TODAY button 252 generates a commanddesignating this day as the date for which TV program information needsto be acquired. Selecting a CANCEL button 251 terminates the operation.

If the user selects any past date, a window 255 appears carrying amessage such as “Download of any past TV program information cannot bepreset,” as shown in FIG. 19.

On the scheduled date setting screen for TV program information,acquisition of FIG. 18, the dates selected by the user are indicated inthe display area 221 as shown in FIG. 20 and are stored into the presetinformation memory 93. In the state of FIG. 20, only the dates are setfor TV program information acquisition; the program information has yetto be obtained.

If the user wants to change any date scheduled for TV programinformation acquisition, the date in question is selected from thescheduled date list in the display area 221, and the CHANGE button 224is selected. This causes a change window 261 of FIG. 21 to appear.

The change window 261 includes a date setting box 262 in which to changethe scheduled date, a region setting list box 263 in which to change theestablished region, an OK button 264 that is selected when the changesmade are judged correct, and a CANCEL button 265 selected when it isdesired to abandon the changes. When the user selects the OK button 264in the change window 261, the date and the region established in thewindow are stored into the preset information memory 93.

From among the scheduled dates for TV program information acquisitiondisplayed on the TV program information management screen in FIG. 20,the user may select a date or dates for which TV program information isdesired to be obtained directly. In that case, the TV programinformation about the selected date or dates is acquired by connectingwith the TV program information service provider 14 directly through thedigital portable telephone 2, base station 3, public communicationnetwork 4, access server 6, and the Internet 8.

Referring again to the flowchart of FIG. 13, the TV program recordingpreset program 83 now goes to step S4. In step S4, the recording presetprogram 83 receives commands for selecting dates for which to acquire TVprogram information directly and for acquiring that information on thebasis of the user's operations.

More specifically, when acquiring TV program information directly, theuser first selects a date or a plurality of dates from among thescheduled dates for TV program information acquisition displayed on theTV program information management screen in FIG. 20. The user thenselects the tag 226 to get the TV program list tag 231 and option tag232 displayed, and selects the TV program list tag 231. In response tothe user's operations, the TV program recording preset program 83displays a drop-down list box 268 shown in FIG. 22. It is assumed herethat the user will select an “Acquire information” item in the box 268to acquire TV program information for a desired date, by connecting withthe TV program information service provider 14 through the digitalportable telephone 2, base station 3, public communication network 4,access server 6, and the Internet 8. The connection will be establishedand the information obtained illustratively as described below.

In step S5 of FIG. 13, the TV program recording preset program 83 checksto see whether a communication module is attached to establish a linkbetween the PDA 1-1 on the one hand, and the digital portable telephone2, a PHS, a data card type PHS, or like connective device on the otherhand for connection with the public communication network 4. The checkis made based on the information entered under control of the datacommunication program 81.

If in step S5 the communication module is not judged connected, thenstep S6 is reached in which the TV program recording preset program 83generates an error message informing the user of the absence of themodule. The message is output to the I/O control program 82 which inturn forwards the message to the display unit 31 for display. Control isthen returned to step S4 and subsequent steps are repeated.

If in step S5 the communication module is judged connected, step S7 isreached. In step S7, the TV program recording preset program 83 startsconnecting with the TV program information server 191 of the TV programinformation service provider 14 through the digital portable telephone2, base station 3, public communication network 4, access server 6, andthe Internet 8 under control of the data communication program 81.

In step S8, the TV program recording preset program 83 transmits auser-entered TV program information acquisition request (including theregion and the date(s) for which to obtain the program information, orthe date(s) and the user ID registered beforehand with the TV programinformation service provider 14) to the TV program information server191 of the TV program information service provider 14.

In step S9, the TV program information server 191 receives the TVprogram information acquisition request from the PDA 1-1. In step S10,the server 191 checks to see whether any user ID is included in thereceived request.

If in step S10 a user ID is judged included in the received TV programinformation acquisition request, step S11 is reached. In step S11, theTV program information server 191 reads from the user informationdatabase 195 the registered content corresponding to the date(s) and theuser ID included in the received request.

Step S12 is reached either at the end of step S11, or if in step S10 theuser ID is not judged included in the received-TV program informationacquisition request. In step S12, the TV program information server 191retrieves the TV program information corresponding to the input TVprogram information acquisition request (including the region and thedate(s) for which to obtain the program information, or the date(s) andthe user ID registered beforehand with the TV program informationservice provider 14) from the pdb-format TV program information database194. In step S13, the server 191 transmits the retrieved TV programinformation to the PDA 1-1 that sent the information acquisition requestearlier.

In step S14, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1receives the TV program information sent from the TV program informationserver 191 in step S13 under control of the data communication program81. The received information is stored into the TV program list memory91. In step S15, the TV program recording preset program 83 severs theconnection with the Internet 8 and terminates the processing.

The processing described in reference to the flowchart of FIG. 13 storesthe TV program information for the date desired by the user into the TVprogram list memory 91 in the PDA 1-1. Of the scheduled, dates for whichto acquire TV program information displayed on the program informationmanagement screen of FIG. 20, the date whose TV program information hasbeen recorded to the TV program list memory 91 is furnished with an icon271 indicating that the information has been obtained already, as shownin FIG. 23.

Described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 24 is what takesplace in a setup where the PDA 1-2 connects with the personal computer 9via the cradle 7; where the personal computer 9 gains access to the TVprogram information service provider 14 through the public communicationnetwork 4, access server 6, and the Internet 8 in order to acquire TVprogram information from the service provider; and where the PDA 1-2obtains the TV program information from the personal computer 9. Theflowchart outlines the workings of the PDA 1-2, the personal computer 9,and the TV program information server 191 of the TV program informationservice provider 14.

Steps S21 through S23 of FIG. 24 are equivalent to steps S1 through S3in FIG. 13.

In step S24 of FIG. 24, the TV program recording preset program 83 undercontrol of the data communication program 81 receives through thecommunication unit 53 the input of a signal indicating that the hot syncbutton 35 is pushed on the cradle 7. In step S25, the TV programrecording preset program 83 starts communicating with the personalcomputer 9 via the cradle 7.

In step S26, the CPU 131 of the personal computer 9 activates the hotsync manager 172 to interface with the Palm desktop 173. In step S27,the hot sync manager 172 illustratively transmits a TV program recordinghistory and other information to the PDA 1.

The hot sync process is a process that synchronizes files and databetween two different computers, i.e., between the PDA running on thePalm OS and the personal computer 9. The synchronization is effectedregardless of dissimilar computer models.

In step S28, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1-2transmits a TV program information acquisition request to the personalcomputer 9, and receives a TV program recording history and otherinformation therefrom in return. In step S29, the recording presetprogram 83 writes to the schedule list 94 the TV program recordinghistory and other information sent from the personal computer 9 in stepS27.

In step S30, the hot sync manager 172 receives the TV programinformation acquisition request from the PDA 1-2-through the cradle 7.In step S31, the hot sync manager 172 under control of the I/Omanagement program 171 connects with the TV program information serviceprovider 14 over the Internet 8. In step S32, the hot sync manager 172sends to the TV program information service provider 14 the TV programinformation acquisition request received in step S30.

In step S33, the TV program information server 191 of the TV programinformation service provider 14 receives the TV program informationacquisition request from the personal computer 9 over the Internet 8. Instep S34, the server 191 checks to see whether the received requestcontains any user ID.

The user ID is unique identification information granted to each user ofthe PDA 1-2 who in advance registered detailed information such asdesired TV channels for program information acquisition with the TVprogram information service provider 14 (i.e., the ID is given to theuser whose detailed information about desired TV programs is stored inthe user information database 195 described above with reference to FIG.10). The user ID is established on the setting screen discussed above byreferring to FIG. 16.

If in step S34 the TV program information server 191 judges that a userID is included in the received TV program information acquisitionrequest, then step S35 is reached. In step S35, the server 191 reads theregistered content corresponding to the user ID from the userinformation database 195.

Step S36 is reached either at the end of step S35, or if in step S34 theTV program information server 191 judges that no user ID is contained inthe received TV program information acquisition request. In step S36,the TV program information server 191 searches for and retrieves the TVprogram information specified by the user-requested date, region,channel, etc., from the pdb-format TV program information database 194.

In step S37, the TV program information server 191 transmits the TVprogram information retrieved in step S36 to the personal computer 9over the Internet 8.

In step S38, the I/O management program 171 of the personal computer 9receives the TV program information from the TV program informationservice provider 14 via the Internet 8. The hot sync manager 172 sendsthe received TV program information to the PDA 1-2 through the cradle 7under control of the I/O management program 171.

In step S39, the I/O management program 171 of the personal computer 9disconnects from the Internet 8.

In step S40, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1-2receives the TV program information from the personal computer 9 throughthe cradle 7, writes the received information to the TV program listmemory 91, and terminates the processing.

By resorting to the processing discussed above in reference to FIG. 24,any user who does not possess the digital portable telephone 2 can stillacquire TV program information through the use of the personal computer9. The personal computer 9 allows the user to acquire TV programinformation by connecting with the TV program information serviceprovider 14 that may offer a flat-rate communication service at aparticular telephone number during a specific time period (e.g., 23:00to 8:00).

In the processing of FIG. 13 or that of FIG. 24, the TV program list 101is recorded into the TV program list memory 91 of the PDA 1. With theprogram list 101 held in the TV program list memory 91, the user mayselect with the pen 201 the icon designating the TV program recordingpreset program 83 on the initial screen of FIG. 11. In that case, theactivated TV program recording preset program 83 causes the display unit31 to display a TV program list screen shown in FIG. 25.

The TV program list screen displayed on the display unit 31 includes aTV program list 281, an advertisement banner 283, and a tag 282. The TVprogram list 281 includes a channel name 284, a date 285, and a time286. The advertisement banner 283 illustratively changes its indicationautomatically in accordance with display time information contained inthe advertisement data. The tag 282 indicates the current time (21:22 inthis example).

When the tag 282 is selected, the display unit 31 displays a TV programlist tag 291 and an option tag 292 as shown in FIG. 26. If the user thenselects the TV program list tag 291, then a drop-down list box 293appears. When a “Preset list” item is selected in the drop-down list box293, there appears a preset screen, to be described later by referringto FIG. 38. If an “Information management” item is selected in thedrop-down list box 293, the information management screen of FIG. 23 isdisplayed. If the start time of a desired TV program shown in the TVprogram list 281 is first chosen followed by selection of a “Time-slotTV program table” item, then there appears a table of TV program in thedesignated time slot, to be described later with reference to FIG. 35.

If the user selects the option tag 292, then a drop-down list box 294appears as shown in FIG. 27. Selecting a “Fonts” item in the drop-downlist box 294 displays a setting screen that permits setting of a font inwhich to give displays on the display unit 31. Selecting a “Set” item inthe drop-down list box 294 causes the setting screen of FIG. 16 toappear.

If a “Delete TV program information” item is selected in the drop-downlist box 294, a window 295 appears carrying a message prompting the userto confirm the ensuing erasure of TV program information, as shown inFIG. 28. The user selects a CANCEL button 296 if not wishing to erasethe TV program information; the user selects an OK button 297 whendeleting the information. This arrangement is intended to preventinadvertent erasure of TV program information if the user has made anerroneous operation.

If a “Version information” item is selected in the drop-down list box294, then version information about the TV program recording presetprogram 83 is displayed.

When a “Remote commander” item is selected in the drop-down list box294, the display unit 31 displays a remote commander display screen, tobe described later with reference to FIG. 48. The remote commanderdisplay screen provides remote control processes that will be describedlater by referring to FIGS. 47 through 50.

When the channel 284 is selected in the TV program list 281 displayed onthe display unit 31, a channel list 301 appears as shown in FIG. 29. Inthe channel list 301 thus displayed, the user selects the desiredchannel for display on the display unit 31.

When the date 285 is selected in the TV program list 281 on the displayunit 31, a date list 311 made up of the dates in the TV program list 101currently held in the TV program list memory 91 appears as shown in FIG.30. From among the listed dates 311, the user selects the desired datefor which to display the TV program list on the display unit 31.

When the time 286 is selected in the TV program list 281 on the displayunit 31, a list box 321 appears in which to set a time-of-day at whichto start displaying the TV program list on the display unit 31, as shownin FIG. 31. The user then selects the desired start time from the timesettings in the list box 321.

The advertisement banner 283 changes its indication automatically atpredetermined intervals as mentioned above. A click on theadvertisement, banner 283 by the user displays a detailed advertisementscreen as shown in FIG. 32. Where necessary, the detailed advertisementscreen may include a link text 331 carrying a URL and/or a mail-to text332 containing a mail address, as well as an OK button 333 by which togo back to the preceding display screen.

If the user selects the link text 331, the Web browser 86 is activatedas shown in FIG. 33. In turn, the Web browser 86 starts the datacommunication program 81 executing necessary steps to connect with a WWWserver, not shown, over the Internet 8. A website page designated by theURL of the link text 331 then appears.

If the user selects the mail-to text 332, the e-mail program 85 isactivated as shown in FIG. 34. The e-mail program 85 displays a mailpreparation screen on which to prepare a mail message destined for theaddress designated by the mail-to text 332. The user's command totransmit the prepared mail causes the e-mail program 85 to start thedata communication program 81 which in turn executes necessary steps toconnect with a mail server, not shown, in the access server 6. Theconnection permits transmission of the e-mail to the designated addressover the Internet 8.

Before actually presetting the most desired TV program for unattendedrecording, the user may wish to know what TV programs are available onvarious channels in the same time slot. In that case, the user may firstselect the start time of the currently chosen program in the TV programlist of FIG. 25, get the drop-down list box 293 of FIG. 26 displayed,and select the “Time-slot TV program table” item. This will cause atable 335 of TV programs in the designated time slot to appear as shownin FIG. 35.

The TV program recording preset program 83 under control of the I/Ocontrol program 82 accepts input of the user-selected start time of thedesired TV program. Whereas the user selects a TV program start time,the TV program recording preset program 83 extracts the start and endtimes, not the user-selected time, of the TV program in question fromthe TV program list memory 91 and retrieves accordingly the informationabout all TV programs to be broadcast between the extracted start andend times in order to create the table 335 of TV programs in thedesignated time slot shown in FIG. 35. The TV program table thus createdis output under control of the I/O control program 82 to the displayunit 31 for display.

In the TV program list of FIG. 25 or in the table 335 of TV programs inthe specified time slot in FIG. 35, the user can select the desired TVprogram and preset its unattended recording using the personal computer9.

Described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 36 is what takesplace when unattended recording of a given TV program is preset by useof the personal computer 9.

In step S51 of FIG. 36, the TV program recording preset program 83 ofthe PDA 1 under control of the I/O control program 82 receives input ofa signal representing the selection of a desired TV program by the userin the TV program list 281. In step S52, the recording preset program 83displays a detailed TV program screen corresponding to the selected TVprogram as shown, in FIG. 37.

More specifically, the user first selects the desired TV program in theTV program list 281 (or from the table 335 of TV programs in thedesignated time slot in FIG. 35). The user's selecting action causes thedetailed TV program screen to appear as depicted in FIG. 37.

The detailed TV program screen includes detailed information about theTV program of interest (detailed information is part of the TV programdata in the TV program list 101 described with reference to FIG. 6), anOK button 341 that is pushed to go back to the preceding display screen(TV program list 281 or table 335 of TV, programs in the designated timeslot), and an “ADD TO PRESET LIST” button 342 that is operated to addthis TV program to the preset list 92. The detailed TV program screenmay alternatively indicate the URL of a website administered by the TVbroadcasting station in question, or the URL of a website from which theinformation about the TV program in question is made available.

In step S53, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1under control of the I/O control program 82 accepts selection of the“ADD TO PRESET LIST” button 342. In step S54, the recording presetprogram 83 retrieves the corresponding TV program list 101 from the TVprogram list memory 91 and copies the TV program data in the retrievedTV program list 101 to the preset list 92.

Suppose that on the detailed TV program screen of FIG. 37, the “ADD TOPRESET LIST” button 342 is selected to copy the relevant TV program datato the preset list 92. In that case, a preset list screen appears asshown in FIG. 38. This preset list screen displays the dates, times andtitles constituting the TV program data copied into the preset list 92,as well as a “TV PROGRAM LIST” button 351 and a check box 352. The “TVPROGRAM LIST” button 351 is used to go back to the TV program list 281.The check box 352 is checked or left unchecked to determine whether ornot to display the past data yet to be deleted from the preset list 92.

When the user selects a given TV program name in the preset list screen,a schedule detail screen appears as depicted in FIG. 39. The scheduledetail screen displays detailed information about the selected TVprogram such as the scheduled date and time for the program broadcast,the channel of the broadcast, the title of the program, and a comment.The schedule detail screen also includes an OK button 361, a DELETEbutton 362, and a SEND button 363. The OK button 361 is operated to goback to the preceding display screen, i.e., the preset list screen ofFIG. 38. The DELETE button 362 is selected when what is preset for thisTV program needs to be erased. The SEND button 363 is used to transmitan unattended recording preset command regarding the TV program ofinterest to the personal computer 9 (or to the VCR 13) in a commandtransmission process that will be described later in more detail withreference to FIG. 46.

Selecting the DELETE button 362 displays a confirmation window 365carrying a message such as “Are you sure you want to delete thisschedule?” as shown in FIG. 40. The window 365 also includes an OKbutton 366 that is pushed to delete the selected schedule, and a CANCELbutton 367 that is activated to cancel the subsequent erasure.

In step S55 of FIG. 36, the TV program recording preset program 83 ofthe PDA 1 under control of the data communication program 81 receives asignal from the cradle 7 through the communication unit 53, the signalindicating that the hot sync button 35 is pushed. In step S56, the datacommunication program 81 starts communicating with the personal computer9 via the communication unit 53 and cradle 7.

In step S57, the CPU 131 of the personal computer 9 starts the hot syncmanager 172 (discussed earlier in reference to FIG. 9) in response to acommunication start signal sent from the cradle 7 via the communicationboard 145, external bus 136, bridge 135, and host bus 134. Uponactivating the hot sync manager 172, the CPU 131 interfaces with thePalm desktop 173. In step S58, the CPU 131 under control of the I/Omanagement program 171 transmits a history of TV program recordings madeafter the preceding hot sync process and other information to the PDA 1through the communication board 145 and cradle 7.

In step S59, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1under control of the data communication program 81 transmits theregistered content of the preset list 92 to the personal computer 9through the cradle 7, and receives the TV program recording history andother information from the personal computer 9 (i.e., the informationsent by the personal computer 9 in step S58). In step S60, the TVprogram recording preset program 83 updates the preset list 92 based onthe received TV program recording history.

Illustratively, the TV program data currently recorded in the presetlist 92 include the TV program recording history sent by the personalcomputer 9 in step S58, the history containing information about thestatus of previously established unattended recordings monitored by thepreset monitoring program 174 of the personal computer 9. After the TVprogram recording preset program 83 has updated the preset list 92 basedon the received information, the preset list screen subsequentlydisplayed by the user may indicate any or all of icons 371, 372 and 373reflecting the content of the preset list 92, as shown in FIG. 41. Theicon 371 indicates that the icon-marked TV program has been recorded.The icon 372 shows that the corresponding TV program is currently presetfor unattended recording. The icon 373 warns of an error such as doublebooking. These icons let the user of the PDA 1 know the current statusof the selected TV programs being preset for unattended recording orhaving been recorded already by the personal computer 9.

In step S61, the hot sync manager 172 of the personal computer 9 undercontrol of the I/O management program 171 receives the registeredcontent of the preset list 92 from the PDA 1 via the cradle 7 andcommunication board 145. In step S62, the hot sync manager 172 registersnew recording preset information with the preset monitoring program 174.

In step S63, the preset monitoring program 174 checks whether any of thestart times preset for unattended TV program recording is reached. If instep S63 none of the start times preset for unattended recording isjudged reached, step S63 is repeated, until one of the start times isjudged reached.

If in step S63 one of the preset start times is judged reached, thenstep S64 is reached. In step S64, the preset monitoring program 174carries out an automatic recording process. After the recording, theprocessing is terminated.

The above-described processing first causes the preset recordinginformation registered in the preset list 92 on the PDA 1 to be sent tothe personal computer 9. The personal computer 9 in turn takes over theautomatic recording process of the TV program or programs as desired bythe user.

The PDA 1 has the schedule list program 84 installed therein in areadily executable manner, as described above with reference to FIG. 5.The schedule list program 84 is a program that manages the user'sschedule.

Sometimes the user may wish to include in his or her schedule thepresetting of a desired TV program or programs for unattended recording.In such a case, the user need only check the check box 243 on thesetting screen of FIG. 16 in order to reflect the registered content ofthe preset list 92 in the schedule list 94.

How to change the schedule list 94 on the PDA 1 will now be described byreferring to the flowchart of FIG. 42.

In step S71, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1determines whether or not the check box 243 is checked, i.e., whetherthe preset information in the preset list 92 is set to be reflected inthe schedule list 94 of the schedule list program 84, based on thecontent set in the preset information memory 93.

If in step S71 the TV program recording preset program 83 judges thatthe preset information in the preset list 92 is set to be reflected inthe schedule list 94, then step S72 is reached. In step S72, the TVprogram recording preset program 83 checks to see if unattendedrecording of any TV program is newly preset in the preset list 92. If instep S71 the TV program recording preset program 83 judges the presetinformation in the preset list 92 is not set to be reflected in theschedule list 94, then the processing is brought to an end.

If in step S72 the TV program recording preset program 83 judges thatunattended recording of a TV program is newly preset in the preset list92, then step S73 is reached. In step S73, the TV program recordingpreset program 83 determines whether the newly preset TV program extendsbeyond the time 0:00 (i.e., goes into the next day) if recorded. If instep S72 the TV program recording preset program 83 judges thatunattended recording of any TV program is not newly preset in the presetlist 92, then step S79 is reached.

If in step S73 the TV program recording preset program 83 judges thatthe newly preset TV program will extend beyond the time 0:00 ifrecorded, then step S74 is reached. In step S74, the TV programrecording preset program 83 sets the recording end time of the TVprogram in question for 23:59 of the same day as the recording starttime in the schedule list 94.

Step S75 is reached either at the end of step S74, or if in step S73 theTV program recording preset program 83 judges that the newly preset TVprogram will not extend beyond the time 0:00 if recorded. In step S75,the TV program recording preset program 83 creates a UID assigneduniquely to each newly preset TV program to be recorded unattended. Instep S76, the TV program recording preset program 83 copies thecorresponding data from the preset list 92 and stores the copied dataalong with the UID to the schedule list 94 of the schedule list program84.

In step S77, the schedule list program 84 determines whether an alarmhas been set to go off a certain time period before a scheduled starttime.

If in step S77 the schedule list program 84 judges that the alarm isset, then step S78 is reached. In step S78, the schedule list program 84sets the alarm based on the preset recording start time of the newlybooked TV program. For example, if the alarm has been set to go off 10minutes before the start time of a certain event, then the schedule listprogram 84 sets the alarm to go off 10 minutes before the start time ofthe newly preset TV program for unattended recording. If in step S77 theschedule list program 84 judges that the alarm is not set, then step S79is reached

In step S79, the TV program recording preset program 83 checks to seewhether any preset TV program has been deleted from the preset list 92since the last change made in the preset list 92.

If in step S79 the TV program recording preset program 83 judges that apreset TV program is deleted from the preset list 92, then step S80 isreached. In step S80, the TV program recording preset program 83supplies the schedule list program 84 with the UID of the preset TVprogram that has been deleted. In response, the schedule list program 84deletes from the schedule list 94 the information about the TV programcorresponding to the supplied UID.

The processing is terminated either at the end of step S80, of if instep S79 the TV program recording preset program 83 judges that nopreset TV program has been deleted from the preset list 92.

The processing described above with reference to the flowchart of FIG.42 causes the data in the preset list 92 to be reflected in the dataheld in the schedule list 94. In turn, on the initial screen of FIG. 11,selecting the icon for activating the schedule list program 84 displaysa schedule list screen that contains the added schedule of the preset TVprogram for unattended recording.

On that schedule list screen an inserted keyword 244 appears, followedby the name of the preset TV program to be recorded unattended. Thekeyword 244, described earlier with reference to FIG. 16, is indicatedto distinguish the scheduled TV program recording from the rest of theschedule. The distinction may alternatively be made by suitably changingthe colors of display on the screen.

The data communication program 81 of the PDA 1 may also communicate withother devices by either using infrared rays through the infraredcommunication unit 22 or by utilizing radio waves via the wireless LANcommunication unit 64.

What follows is a description of how the PDA 1-1 sends the informationestablished by the TV program recording preset program 83 illustrativelyto the PDA 1-2.

The user first displays the information management screen describedabove by referring to FIG. 20, and selects on the screen the datecorresponding to the acquired TV program information or the presetcontent of any unattended TV program recording to be transmitted. Aplurality of dates may be selected. The user then causes the drop-downlist box 268 shown in FIG. 22 to appear and selects an “Infraredcommunication of information” item in the box. Through infrared raycommunication, the TV program recording preset program 83 transmits theacquired TV program information along with advertisement information orthe preset content of the unattended TV program recording correspondingto the selected date or dates. At this point, the advertisementinformation is sent first so as to circumvent attempts to transmit onlythe information excluding the advertisement.

On the initial screen of FIG. 11, the user may alternatively get menuitems displayed including an application tag 391 and an option tag 392,as shown in FIG. 44. The user then selects the application tag 391.

In response to the user's input operation, the Palm OS of the PDA 1-1displays a drop-down list box 393. In the drop-down list box 393, theuser selects an “Infrared communication” item to get an infraredcommunication screen displayed as depicted in FIG. 45.

The infrared communication screen displays a table of applicationspossessed by the PDA 1-1. The screen also includes an END button 401 forterminating infrared communication mode, and an INFRARED COMMUNICATIONbutton 402 by which to send the data of the selected application throughinfrared communication.

In the application table, the user selects a “TV Program Preset”application and operates the INFRARED COMMUNICATION button 402. Giventhe user's input operation, the Palm OS of the PDA 1-1 searches for thedestination device for infrared communication (PDA 1-2 in this example).When the destination device is found, the information held by the TVprogram recording preset program 83 (such as the downloaded TV programlist 101 in the TV program list memory 91 or the scheduled TV programsfor unattended recording in the preset list 92) is transmitted to thatdevice through infrared communication. In this case, as in the previousexample, advertisement information is sent first.

Explained in the above example was how to send the downloaded TV programlist 101 from the TV program list memory 91 or the preset TV programschedule from the preset list 92 by means of infrared communication.Needless to say, the same transmission process can be executedalternatively by resorting to wireless communication.

Because the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1-1 iscapable of sending to the PDA 1-2 the data representing the preset TVprograms from the preset list 92 by means of infrared or wirelesscommunication, there can be an advantageous situation like this: oneuser possessing the PDA 1-1 may download beforehand TV programinformation to prepare a list of preset TV programs on behalf of anotheruser who owns the PDA 1-2. The preset list 92 thus prepared may betransmitted to the PDA 1-2. In turn, the user of the PDA 1-2 may presetunattended recording of the TV programs in question on the personalcomputer 9 or on the VCR 13 in the manner described above with referenceto FIG. 36.

The TV program recording preset program 83 is also capable oftransmitting a preset TV program recording command to the personalcomputer 9 or to the VCR 13 using the infrared communication function ofthe PDA 1. A push on the SEND button 363 by the user on the scheduledetail screen of FIG. 39 causes the TV program recording preset program83 to generate a command for recording the currently displayed TVprogram. The recording command is output through the infraredcommunication unit 22 (or wireless LAN communication unit 64) undercontrol of the data communication program 81.

How the recording command is transmitted to the personal computer 9through infrared communication will now be described by referring to theflowchart of FIG. 46. Command transmission to the VCR 13 instead of tothe personal computer 9 also takes place in like manner and thus willnot be described further below.

In step S91 of FIG. 46, the TV program recording preset program 83 undercontrol of the I/O control program 82 displays on the display unit 31the preset list screen of FIG. 38 in response to the user's operationinput from the touch pad control unit 48, jog dial 33, or keys 32. TheTV program recording preset program 83 receives the selective input ofthe user's desired TV program from the touch pad control unit 48, jogdial 33, or keys 32 under control of the I/O control program 82.

In step S92, the TV program recording preset program 83 generates theschedule detail screen of FIG. 39 with regard to the selected TVprogram. Under control of the I/O control program 82, the generatedscreen is output to the display unit 31 for display.

In step S93, the TV program recording preset program 83 under control ofthe I/O control program 82 receives input of a signal representing theselection of the SEND button 363 from the touch pad control unit 48.

In step S94, the TV program recording preset program 83 generates arecording command based on the TV program data held in the preset list92, and feeds the generated command to the data communication program81. The recording command illustratively includes the channel on whichthe desired TV program is to be broadcast, as well as the start and endtimes of the broadcast.

In step S95, the data communication program 81 transmits the recordingcommand generated in step S94 to the personal computer 9 throughinfrared communication.

In step S96, the recording preset program 178 of the personal computer 9under control of the I/O management program 171 receives the recordingcommand from the PDA 1 via the infrared communication unit 146 (orwireless LAN communication unit 147). At this point, the recordingpreset program 178 may generate an acknowledge command acknowledging thereceipt of the recording command from the PDA 1 and send the acknowledgecommand back to the PDA 1 through the infrared communication unit 146(or wireless LAN communication unit 147) under control of the I/Omanagement program 171.

After steps S97 through S99 which are equivalent to steps S62 throughS64 of FIG. 36, the processing is terminated.

The processing above allows the user simply to preset the personalcomputer 9 or VCR 13 for unattended recording of desired TV programs,without recourse to such tedious steps as entering a G code number.

Using the infrared communication function of the PDA 1, the TV programrecording preset program 83 may also allow the user to make entries on aremote-controlled basis into programs run by the personal computer 9.The remote control procedure eliminates the need for the user tomanipulate the keyboard 138 or mouse 139 of the personal computer 9.

Described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 47 is a typicalprocess of such remote control on the recording preset program 178 ofthe personal computer 9. In this example, the recording preset program178 is started in the personal computer 9 and operated by the PDA 1 on aremote-controlled basis.

In step S111 of FIG. 47, the TV program recording preset program 83under control of the I/O control program 82 displays a remote commanderdisplay screen in response to the user's operation input from the touchpad control unit 48, jog dial 33, or keys 32.

FIG. 48 shows a typical remote commander display screen. This displayscreen includes a group of keys 411 through which to enter variouscommands, and a tag 412 for calling up menu items. Selecting the tag 412displays a drop-down list box, not shown, in which the user maydesignate the end of the remote commander display screen. In addition tothe screen end menu item, the drop-down list box includes a plurality ofcommands such as the command for effecting transition to a display fontsetting screen.

In step S112, the CPU 131 of the personal computer 9 starts therecording preset program 178 in response to the user's operation. Undercontrol of the I/O management program 171, the CPU 131 displays on theCRT 140 a recording preset screen 415 shown in FIG. 49.

In step S113, the TV program recording preset program 83 under controlof the I/O control program 82 receives the user's operation input fromthe touch pad control unit 48, jog dial 33, or keys 32.

In step S114, the recording preset program 178 of the personal computer9 under control of the I/O management program 171 receives input of asignal representing the user's operation from the PDA 1 through theinfrared communication unit 146 (or wireless LAN communication unit147). At this point, the recording preset program 178 may generate anacknowledge command acknowledging the receipt of the signal from the PDA1 and send the acknowledge command back to the PDA 1 through theinfrared communication unit 146 (or wireless LAN communication unit 147)under control of the I/O management program 171.

In step S115, the recording preset program 178 of the personal computer9 carries out the process corresponding to the input signal. All signalsrepresentative of the user's operations input from the PDA 1 arearranged to correspond with commands ordering the recording presetprogram 178 to act accordingly. For example, if the user has rotated thejog dial 33, the selected tag on the menu bar or the location of theselected button is changed correspondingly on the recording presetscreen displayed in step S112.

In step S116, the TV program recording preset program 83 under controlof the I/O control program 82 checks to see whether an operation endcommand is received. If in step S116 the TV program recording presetprogram 83 judges that the operation end command has yet to be received,then step S113 is reached again and subsequent steps are repeated.

If in step S116 the TV program recording preset program 83 judges thatthe operation end command is received, then step S117 is reached. Instep S117, the TV program recording preset program 83 under control ofthe I/O control program 82 calls up the display screen preceding theremote commander display screen of FIG. 48. This terminates theprocessing.

The steps in FIG. 47 allow the user simply to operate the PDA 1 inpresetting the personal computer 9 for unattended recording of desiredTV programs. In that case, the user need not be familiar with thehandling of the keyboard 138 or mouse 139 in making the presetting.

Described below is another example in which the PDA 1 is used to executea remote-controlled process, with the recording/reproduction program 177performing a content reproduction process causing a display screen shownin FIG. 50 to appear on the CRT 140.

A video recorder window 422 shown in FIG. 50 illustratively displayseither moving picture data selected by the user or a currently broadcastTV program. The user may select and reproduce one of a plurality ofprogram contents listed in a content capsule selection window 423 withinthe video recorder window 422. When selectively reproducing the desiredcontent, the user may either push a suitable cursor key (i.e., a keywith a directional arrow) among the group of keys 411 in FIG. 48, orrotate the jog dial 33.

Based on the signal representative of the user's operation input throughthe infrared communication unit 146 (or wireless LAN communication unit147), the I/O management program 171 of the personal computer 9 controlsthe content name display in the content capsule selection window 423 insuch a manner that each text displayed in reverse may be selected byturns.

In response to a signal that is input through the infrared communicationunit 146 (or wireless LAN communication unit 147) denoting either aplayback key being pushed within the group of keys 411 in FIG. 48 or thejog dial 33 being pushed into the enclosure of the device, the I/Omanagement program 171 supplies the recording/reproduction program 177with a signal indicating that the selection has been finalized. Giventhe input signal, the recording/reproduction program 177 reproduces theselected content accordingly.

Whereas the processing described above applies to the example of FIG. 50in which the recording/reproduction program 171 is being active in thepersonal computer 9, the same processing basically applies when anyother program is being activated in the personal computer 9. Thecorrespondence above between the operation of the jog dial 33 and theresulting indication on the display screen of the personal computer 9 isonly an example and is not limitative of the invention.

Using the infrared communication function of the PDA 1, the TV programrecording preset program 83 may function as a remote controller of theVCR 13 in the same manner as described above.

Furthermore, the TV program recording preset program 83 may retrievecontent data from the HDD 141 of the personal computer 9 by use of theinfrared communication function of the PDA 1 and may reproduce theretrieved content data.

The HDD 141 of the personal computer 9 accommodates a plurality ofcontent data items. The content data thus stored are managed andretrieved by the AV content management/search program 176.

FIG. 51 shows an AV content management/search screen 431 displayed onthe CRT 140 under control of the AV content management/search program176. The AV content management/search screen 431 displays a table ofcontent data held on the HDD 141. The content table shows content namesillustratively along with the corresponding dates and times of creation(recording), content status information (reproduced or not reproduced),recorded content lengths, channel names, and recording modes used.

The PDA 1 has a smaller data storage capacity and a lower level ofperformance in displaying moving pictures than the personal computer 9.To make up for such limitations, the AV content conversion program 175of the personal computer 9 converts stored content data to a suitableformat that allows the PDA 1 to give adequate displays when suppliedwith limited amounts of content data. The converted content data aretransmitted through the infrared communication unit 146 (or wireless LANcommunication unit 147) to the PDA 1 under control of the I/O managementprogram 171.

The TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1 under control ofthe data communication program 81 supplies the moving picture displayprogram 87 with the moving picture data from among the content datareceived from the infrared communication unit 22 (or wireless LANcommunication unit 64). In turn, the moving picture display program 87displays the corresponding moving pictures on the display unit 31 inkeeping with the user's operation. At the same time, the audio data outof the content data are transferred to the audio reproduction unit 51through the buffer 50 for audio playback.

Described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 52 is an examplein which content data held in the personal computer 9 are transmitted tothe PDA 1 through infrared communication for content data reproductionby the PDA 1.

In step S131, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1under control of the I/O control program 82 receives from the touch padcontrol unit 48, jog dial 33, or keys 32 a command for transition tocontent data reception/reproduction mode. In step S132, the TV programrecording preset program 83 displays a content datareception/reproduction screen as shown in FIG. 53. At this point, nocontent name is displayed on the screen because any content list has notbeen received from the personal computer 9 in step S132.

The content data reception/reproduction screen of FIG. 53 includes a“RECEIVE CONTENT DATA” button 441 and a “RECEIVE TABLE” button 442. The“RECEIVE CONTENT DATA” button 441 is pushed to receive desired contentdata from the personal computer 9. The “RECEIVE TABLE,” button 442 isoperated to receive a table of content data from the personal computer9.

In step S133, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1under control of the data communication program 81 transmits a contentdata table transmission request to the personal computer 9 through theinfrared communication unit 22 (or wireless LAN communication unit 64).

In step S134, the AV content management/search program 176 of thepersonal computer 9 under control of the I/O management program 171receives the content data table transmission request via the infraredcommunication unit 146 (or wireless LAN communication unit 147).

In step S135, the AV content management/search program 176 creates acontent data table and sends the table to the PDA 1 via the infraredcommunication unit 146 (or wireless LAN communication unit 147) undercontrol of the I/O management program 171.

In step S136, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1under control of the data communication program 81 receives the contentdata table through the infrared communication unit 22 (or wireless LANcommunication unit 64), generates display screen data making up acontent data table screen, and outputs the generated data to the displayunit 31 for display under control of the I/O control program 82.

Step S136, when carried out, displays on the content datareception/reproduction screen the content data table shown in FIG. 53,the table having been retrieved from within the personal computer 9.

From the displayed table of content data, the user selects the desiredcontent and pushes the “RECEIVE CONTENT DATA” button 441. In step S137,the TV program recording preset program 83 under control of the I/Ocontrol program 82 receives from the touch pad control unit 48, jog dial33, or keys 32 the input of both the selection of the content name and asignal representing the user's operation ordering the reception of theselected content data (i.e., the signal indicating that the “RECEIVECONTENT DATA” button 441 is pushed).

In step S138, the TV program recording preset program 83 generates arequest to convert the relevant content data and to send the converteddata. Under control of the data communication program 81, the TV programrecording preset program 83 transmits the request to the personalcomputer 9 via the infrared communication unit 22 (or wireless LANcommunication unit 64).

In step S139, the I/O management program 171 of the personal computer 9receives the content data conversion and transmission request throughthe infrared communication unit 146 (or wireless LAN communication unit147), and supplies the received request to the AV contentmanagement/search program 176. In turn, the AV content management/searchprogram 176 searches for and retrieves the corresponding content dataand feeds the retrieved data to the AV content conversion program 175,The AV content conversion program 175 converts the supplied content datainto a format that allows the moving picture display program 87 of thePDA 1 to effect content displays on the display unit 31. The convertedcontent data are sent to the I/O management program 171.

In step S140, the I/O management program 171 transmits the convertedcontent data to the PDA 1 through the infrared communication unit 146(or wireless LAN communication unit 147).

In step S141, the TV program recording preset program 83 of the PDA 1under control of the data communication program 81 receives the contentdata through the infrared communication unit 22 (or wireless LANcommunication unit 64), generates icons representing the content datathat are available for reproduction, and outputs the generated icons tothe display unit 31 for display under control of the I/O control program82.

FIG. 54 shows a typical reproduction command screen indicating the iconsrepresenting the content data that can be reproduced. That is, thereproduction command screen shows a group of icons 451 corresponding tothe reproducible content data, and a “DISPLAY TABLE” button 452 that isoperated to go back to the table of content data in the content datareception/reproduction screen of FIG. 53.

In step S142, the TV program recording preset program 83 under controlof the I/O control program 82 checks to see whether the selection of anicon is received on the basis of the signal input from the touch padcontrol unit 48, jog dial 33, or keys 32. If in step S142 the TV programrecording preset program 83 judges that no icon selection has beenreceived, then step S142 is repeated until selection of any icon isjudged received.

If in step S142 the selection of an icon is judged received, then stepS143 is reached. In step S143, the TV program recording preset program83 supplies the content data selected in step S142 to the moving picturedisplay program 87. In turn, the moving picture display program 87 undercontrol of the I/O control program 82 outputs the supplied content datato the display unit 31 for playback in response to the user's operation.The processing is then terminated.

FIG. 55 shows a typical display screen 31 displaying content data. Inaddition to a display area 461 displaying the content as movingpictures, the display screen 31 may include a group of buttons 462 thatmay be easily operated by the user.

The processing of FIG. 52 makes it possible for the PDA 1 to retrievecontent data from the personal computer 9 and to reproduce the retrieveddata. In a typical application, the user may enjoy watching contentbeing reproduced on his or her PDA while moving in a train.

Without receiving the input of any operation from the PDA 1, thepersonal computer 9 can start the AV content conversion program 175 andthereby convert content data into a predetermined format.Illustratively, with the AV content management/search screen 431displayed as shown in FIG. 51, activation of the AV content conversionprogram 175 causes a content conversion window 471 to appear asindicated in FIG. 56.

In that state, the user may drag the icon representing the desiredcontent from the AV content management/search screen 431 into thecontent conversion window 471 and drop the icon there; the user mayalternatively copy the icon of interest from the screen 431 into thewindow 471. In either case, the AV content conversion program 175converts the content data corresponding to the user-selected icon intothe predetermined format in the same manner as in step S139 above.

After their conversion to the suitable format, the AV data appearrepresented by icons 472 in the content conversion window 471.

In another example, the content conversion window 471 may include a menuscreen allowing the user to operate the personal computer 9 so as totransmit the format-converted content data to the PDA 1 through infraredor wireless communication.

The series of steps described above may be executed either by hardwareor by software. For software-based processing to take place, programsconstituting the software may be either incorporated beforehand indedicated hardware or installed upon use from a suitable program storagemedium into a general-purpose personal computer or like equipmentcapable of executing diverse functions.

Computer-executable programs designed to perform the above-describedprocesses when installed in a computer may be retained on such packagemedia as the magnetic disk 71 (including floppy disks), optical disk 72(including CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory) and DVD (digitalversatile disk)), magneto-optical disk 73 (including MD (Mini-Disc)), orsemiconductor memory 124; or may be stored on the flash ROM 43 or thehard disk where the programs reside temporarily or permanently. Theprograms may be retained on these storage media after being transferredover wired or wireless communication media such as the publiccommunication network 4, local area networks, the Internet 8, or digitalsatellite broadcasting networks via suitable interfaces such as routersand modems as needed.

In this specification, the steps which are stored on a program storagemedium and which describe the programs to be executed represent not onlythe processes that are carried out in the depicted sequence (i.e., on atime series basis) but also the processes that are conducted parallellyor individually (e.g., in parallel or object-oriented fashion).

In this specification, the term “system” refers to an entireconfiguration made up of a plurality of component devices.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description, and theappended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich like parts or elements denoted by like reference symbols.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus remote from an external device,comprising: circuitry configured to store pre-registered useridentifying information that identifies a user of the external device;store program information pre-registered in advance by the user fortransmission to the external apparatus of the user, the programinformation pre-registered by the user being associated with the user'sidentifying information and being retrievable in response to receiptfrom the external device of the user's identifying information; storeadvertisement information associated with at least some of the storedprogram information, the stored advertisement information being updatedover a time interval; receive a request including at least the useridentifying information from the external device via a network; identifythe program information associated with and in response to the receiveduser identifying information and identify advertisement informationassociated with the identified program information; retrieve theidentified program information associated with the received useridentifying information; retrieve the identified advertisementinformation associated with the identified program information; transmitthe identified program information to the external device in response tothe received user identifying information; transmit to the externaldevice the identified advertisement information if that advertisementinformation is associated with the identified program information, suchthat the transmitted program information is not used by the externaldevice if advertisement information associated with the programinformation is not transmitted; and calculate a fee to be charged to asponsor of the transmitted advertisement information and charging thefee to the sponsor of the advertisement information.
 2. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the program information includes either anindicator pointing to a location where further information associatedwith the program information exists, or information about a reference tothe associated information.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the advertisement information includes either an indicatorpointing to a location where further information associated with saidadvertisement information exists, or information about a reference tothe associated information.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the advertisement information includes time limit informationdenoting a time limit.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe circuitry is configured to convert the program information and theadvertisement information into data in a file format compatible with theexternal device before transmitting the program information and theadvertisement information to the external device.